■■ 



■HR 






wsmm 



\ a 








Pass t \ Q^L 

Book ^i 




: ■■ •■■■.. 



ANIMAL 

BREEDING 



By 
THOMAS SHAW 

Professor of Anitnal Husbandry at the University 
of Minnesota 



Author of 

"Public School Agriculture" 
"Weeds and How to Eradicate Them" 
"Forage Crops other than Grasses" 

The "Study of Breeds" 
"Soiling Crops and the Silo," Etc. 



NEW YORK AND CHICAGO 

ORANGE JUDD COMPANY 
1903 






Copyright 1901 

By 

Orange Judd Company 



^°- 






Acknowledgments 



THE AUTHOR DESIRES 
TO ACKNOWLEDGE 
HIS INDEBTEDNESS TO MR. 
CHARLES P. TAYLOR AND 
TO MR. W. C. PALMER, FOR 
VALUABLE ASSISTANCE 
RENDERED IN PREPARING 
THE BOOK. 



TO MY BRETHREN THE TEACHERS OF 
ANIMAL HUSBANDRY, TO THE 
STUDENTS OF THE AGRICULTURAL 
COLLEGES, AND TO ALL INTERESTED IN 
THE GROWING OF LIVE STOCK IN THE 
UNITED STATES THIS WORK IS MOST 
RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY THE 
AUTHOR. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

Chapter I. 

Breeding Live Stock 1 

Chapter II. 
A Standard of Excellence 14 

Chapter III. 
The Law that Like Produces Like 24 

Chapter IV. 
The Law on Principle of Variation 36 

Chapter V. 
The Law of Atavism , 49 

Chapter VI. 
Heredity of Normal, Abnormal and Acquired Characters. . Gl 

Chapter VII. 
Heredity of Diseases 74 

Chapter VIII. 
The Law of Correlation 87 



Vlll CONTENTS. 

Chapter IX. PAGE . 

Prepotency ............ 98 

Chapter X. 
In-and-in Breeding. .... 112 

Chapter XI. 

Line Breeding ................. 124 

Chapter XII. 
Fecundity 135 

Chapter XIII. 
The Relative Influence of Parents. ...................... 152 

Chapter XIV. 
The Influence of a Previous Impregnation. ............... 164 

Chapter XV. 
Intra-Uterine Influences ............... . . . 175 

Chapter XVI. 
Influences that Affect the Determination of Sex. ........ .187 

Chapter XVII. 
Nutrition 200 

Chapter XVIII. 
Quality in Live Stock 215 

Chapter . XIX. 
The Coat and Influences Which Affect It. ........ . 228 

Chapter XX. 
The Influence of Artificial Conditions 240 



CONTENTS. IX 

Chapter XXI. i-age. 
Early Maturity , 253 

Chapter XXII. 
Pedigree , 268 

Chapter XXIII. 
Animal Form as an Index of Qualities. .* .... .283 

Chapter XXIV. 
Selection . 301 

Chapter XXV. 
Cross Breeding 312 

Chapter XXVI. 
Improvement Through Grading 325 

Chapter XXVII. 

Forming New Breeds 338 

Chapter XXVIII. 
The Influence of Environment 350 

Chapter XXIX. 
Castration and Spaying 303 

Chapter XXX. 
Mating Animals 375 

Appendix A. 

Period of Gestation in Domestic Animals 38G 

Appendix B. 
Reading and Writing Pedigrees . < .3S9 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



FIG - PAGE, 

1. Red Poll Cow, Pretty Girl, with Heifer Calves, 

Illustrating Like Produces Like Fiontispiece 

2. Grade Dorset Ewe, 

Illustrating Spontaneous Variation. 42 

3. Calf with Six Feet, 

Illustrating Abnormal Transmission 05 

4. Yearling Grade Heifer, ' 

Illustrating Predisposition to Tuberculosis." 81 

5. Group of Hereford Bull Calves, 

Illustrating Prepotency 100 

6. Aberdeen Angus Cow, Rosella of Glendale, and her 

Twin Calves, 

Illustrating Prolificacy „ 130 

7. Hereford Grade Holstein Steer, Teddy Roosevelt, 

Illustrating Early Maturity 252 

8. Aberdeen Angus Steer, Advance, 

Illustrating Typical Beef Form..... 285 

9. Shropshire Ram, Diamond Prince, Imp., 

Illustrating Constitutional Vigor 291 

10. Dual Purpose Cow, Contentment, 

Illustrating Quietness of Disposition 290 

11. Pigs of the Large Improved Yorkshire-Berkshire Cross, 

Illustrating the Greater Potency of the Sire 310 



THE AUTHOE'S PEEFACE. 

Animal breeding is in many of its phases a most 
intricate subject. While it has its shallows it has 
also its great deeps that have never yet been fathomed. 
They would take an intellectual giant over his head 
at the very first plunge. The difficulty, therefore, of 
writing effectively on such a subject will be at once 
apparent. Several authors have made the attempt, 
and some of them have written well. It must how- 
ever be apparent to those who have studied the sub- 
ject that these books are all more or less wanting, first, 
in the comprehensive treatment of the subject, or, 
second, in orderly arrangement and sequence, or, 
third, in simplicity. This book is written, therefore, 
in the hope of, in some measure, removing these de- 
fects and of giving to the public a more teachable 
book. How far the author has succeeded is left with 
an indulgent public to say. 

University Experiment Farm, ' 

St. Anthony Park Univ. 
i go i. 



CHAPTER I. 

BREEDING LIVE STOCK. 

The term live stock is used to tlenote living ani- 
mals such as are kept upon the farm. It is more com- 
monly applied to cattle, sheep, and swine, but is also 
used in a sense so wide as to include all domesticated 
animals reared upon the farm. It has probably been 
coined as an easy means of reference to the living ani- 
mal as distinguished from the same in the dead meat 
or dressed form. 

Definition of Animal Breeding. — Animal breed- 
ing is that science which treats of the reproduction 
and improvement of domestic animals. Some knowl- 
edge of the principles which govern successful breed- 
ing has been possessed from a very early period, but 
just how early can never be certainly known. Both 
ancient and modern writers are almost entirely silent 
on the subject until within the last two or three 
centuries. Almost the only reference to the subject, 
as such, during the first four thousand years of the 
world's history, is that incidentally narrated in the 
book of Genesis when speaking of the arts practiced 
by Jacob to increase his flocks and herds. But, wuthin 
the past two or three centuries, great advances have 
been made in this science. The principles which 
govern it have not only come to be better understood, 
but the knowledge of these is being diffused as 
never before. Foremost among the agencies in dis- 
seminating such knowledge have been the agricultural 
press and the agricultural college. 



2 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

Breeding a Science and an Art. — Animal breed- 
ing is at once a science and an art. It is a science in 
so far as it discovers and systematically arranges the 
truths and principles which relate to the improve- 
ment of live stock. The value of in-and-in breeding, 
for instance, as a quick means of improvement illus- 
trates such discovery. (See Chapter X.) It does 
not appear to have been known to the ancients. If 
it were thus known the knowledge was subsequently 
lost. The systematic arrangement of the truths and 
principles which relate to the science is yet far from 
complete, and it may be added, that many of these 
truths and principles are not yet understood. It is 
an art in so far as it successfully uses those principles 
in effecting improvement. The importance, there- 
fore, of understanding the principles which make 
improvement possible will be at once apparent, since, 
until so understood, they cannot be turned to profit- 
able account. 

Source of the Rules which Govern Breeding. — 
The rules which govern breeding are almost entirely 
empirical in their origin since they have been almost 
exclusively derived from the practice of the most 
successful breeders. These rules, so far as known, 
would seem to have been preserved only in a tradi- 
tional way until within the last two hundred years. 
This would militate against the diffusion of such 
knowledge, and it is partly responsible for the little 
progress made in the science of breeding until recent 
centuries. 

Kobert Bakewell, of Dishley Hall, Leicester- 
shire, England, is usually regarded as the originator 
of improved breeding as now practiced. The value 
of selection was no doubt understood previously. The 



BREEDING LIVE STOCK. 3 

renovating influence from judicious out-crossing was 
also well known, and the knowledge had been turned 
to good account. (See p. 129.) Notwithstanding, 
it remained for Kobert Bakewell to make known to 
the world the short cut to improvement and fixity 
in type, through in-and-in breeding accompanied by 
the most rigorous selection. Previously, improve- 
ment had been sought chiefly through crossing, hence 
the way of improvement was tedious and uncertain. 

Nearly all the modern breeds possessed of value 
have been evolved, or at least improved, on the prin- 
ciples which Bakewell thus introduced and practiced. 
In this fact the explanation is furnished of the com- 
paratively recent origin of many of the improved 
breeds that now stand high in the popular estimate. 
The statement would not be extravagant, it is thought, 
which would claim that Bakew 7 ell's discovery more 
than anything else is responsible for the rapid ad- 
vances that have been made in breeding domestic 
animals since his time. 

Live Stoch Improve mod Neglected. — The im- 
provement of live stock upon the average American 
farm has not received that attention which its im- 
portance demands. This is but another way of say- 
ing that animal breeding has not been given the 
attention that should have been accorded to it. Sev- 
eral reasons may be given by way of explanation. 
First, the opinion has extensively prevailed among 
farmers that the growing of live stock is not so re- 
munerative as the growing of grain or other products 
of the soil, such .as are sold directly from the land. 
This opinion has arisen, first, from an incorrect basis 
for computing profits. The advocates of growing 
crops for direct sale usually overlook the value of 



4 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

live stock in preserving fertility. But, the greater 
prosperity of individuals and communities who give 
much attention to the production of live stock and 
live stock products, as milk, butter, cheese, and wool, 
is more and more arresting attention and paving the 
way for the more rapid extension of the live stock 
industry. Second, the present necessities of farmers 
have retarded investments in live stock, and have thus 
delayed their more rapid introduction on farms. 
This accounts, in part at least, for the little attention 
given to live stock production in more newly settled 
areas. But third, the shortsighted and incorrect 
views of farmers too commonly held regarding the 
value of live stock improvement, more than anything 
else, has hindered such improvement. This, more 
than anything else, also accounts for the comparative- 
ly unimproved condition of the flocks and herds kept 
on so many of the farms of the United States and 
Canada. 

Many cling to the idea that improvement is to 
be brought about chiefly through feeding. Because 
of the prevalence of this view very many of the 
growers of live stock do the work in an aimless way ; 
grade sires are used indiscriminately; in-breeding 
is unconsciously practiced through the continued 
choice of sires from within the herd or flock ; selection 
is based on false premises, and other injudicious 
practices, far too numerous to mention here, are 
followed. As a result the scrub is still in evidence 
on too many farms. (See p. 271.) In view of these 
facts, the importance of quickly diffusing light on this 
question becomes greatly significant, and more espe- 
cially when it is remembered that in the keeping of 
live stock correct practice and generous profits go 
hand in hand. 



BREEDING LIVE STOCK. 5 

Live Stock, Machines for Manufacturing Food. 
— Live stock upon the farm should be regarded as 
machines for manufacturing agricultural products 
into forms more concentrated and possessed of a 
higher value. These products can then be shipped 
to better advantage than the materials could be from 
which they are made, since, ordinarily the cost of 
shipping decreases with the increase in the concen- 
tration of the product shipped. The concentration 
thus secured is usually very marked, as, for instance/ 
when bulky foods are turned into milk and flesh. 
In addition. to the freight thus saved, much coarse and 
bulk}- food grown upon the farm, which would other- 
wise be largely wasted, is given a money value. 

The straw of what is termed the small grains, 
and corn stover, that is corn stalks without the corn, 
would be turned into money. While the animals are 
thus employed, so to speak, in manufacturing food 
into more concentrated products, they give back to 
the farms the greater part of the fertility contained 
in the food, where the management is correct. When- 
ever, therefore, the living animal is used as a machine, 
it is important that this living machine do its 
work to the best advantage. If animals of a certain 
type will make more and better beef than those of 
another type, those of the first type should be given 
the preference by the grower of meat, and if cows of a 
certain type in the dairy will give a better return in 
dairy products for the food consumed than cows of an- 
other type, those of the first should, of course, be 
chosen by the dairyman. 

Animal Breeding Comprehensive. — The breed- 
ing of live stock is a question at once comprehensive 
and manv-sided. ^Totwithstandinff that much has 



b ANIMAL BREEDING. 

been gleaned in regard to the subject, it is likewise 
true that many of the influences which affect breed- 
ing' are as yet obscure or but imperfectly understood. 
Some of those principles are fairly constant in their 
action as the law that like produces like, discussed 
in Chapter III., and some are variable and uncertain 
as the law of variation discussed in Chapter IV. 
Again, some of the influences that govern transmis- 
sion act together and in conjunction, while others are 
apparently antagonistic. It is impossible, therefore, 
at present to state in regular and orderly sequence, 
all the different phases of animal breeding and the 
influences which affect it. Indeed it is highly prob- 
able that some of these have not been discovered, and 
it is quite certain that the degree of influence which 
each will exert is not known. Yet it will be correct 
to say, first, that it considers the principles that 
govern heredity as far as these have been determined. 
Heredity is the transmission to the offspring of pe- 
culiarities possessed by the parents. These peculiarities 
may relate to form, function, qualities both mental 
and physical and to habit. The law that like pro- 
duces like furnishes an illustration of these principles, 
as does also the law or principle of correlation dis- 
cussed in Chapter VIII. Second, it considers certain 
features of transmission not well understood, as, for 
instance, atavism or reversion discussed in Chapter V. 
Third, it includes the effect of external influences on 
transmission and development as contrasted with 
those which may be termed internal and inherent. 
Of this very numerous class are the influences of en- 
vironment and food. And fourth, it includes the ap- 
plication of every known principle of breeding and 
also every feature of correct practice, to the improve- 



BREEDING LIVE STOCK. j 

ment of animals in form and in all useful qualities. 

It would be necessary, therefore, for the breeder 
who aims at the highest success in his work to have 
a wide grasp of the subject. He should be familiar 
with all the principles that govern breeding as far 
as known. He should understand what is implied 
in a standard of excellence, and should be able to 
sit in judgment on the value of pedigree. He should 
be versed in the effects of environment on develop- 
ment. He ought to be familiar with recorded results 
in the making of breeds, in cross-breeding, and in 
improvement through up-grading, and he ought to 
know approximately the feeding value of the foods 
available and the ends for which they are adapted, 
and also the methods of feeding and blending them 
so as to produce a given result. The last item is 
in itself a large factor, since it virtually covers the 
whole ground of feeding • domestic animals. 

A Problem Advanced and Difjlcidt. — From what 
has just been stated it will be apparent, that the suc- 
cessful breeding of live stock furnishes one of the 
most advanced and difficult problems relating to prac- 
tical agriculture. This arises not alone from the 
comprehensive character of the subject as above out- 
lined, but also from irregularities in transmission, the 
causes of which are not well understood. These crop 
up so unexpectedly and so frequently as to perplex 
the breeder betimes, and to make improvement less 
rapid than it would otherwise be. It is not surpris- 
ing, therefore, that the number of those who have 
greatly distinguished themselves in breeding is not 
numerous, not nearly so numerous as that of states- 
men, who, by their successes, have graven their names 
on the records of imperishable history. But the num- 



8 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

ber will increase with the greatly increased attention 
that is being given to the subject during recent years. 
Happily, however, the fundamental principles of the 
science of breeding which are essential to a fair meas- 
ure of success are not numerous nor are they complex. 

Fundamental Principles. — These include : 1. 
Breeding to a standard of excellence, ideal or real. 
2. Breeding only from parents which conform to 
this standard in a marked degree. 3. Breeding from 
parents, more especially males, which have long been 
bred without intermixture of alien blood. 4. Mating 
animals so as to correct the defects of the parent 
in the offspring. 5. Practicing a selection at once 
rigorous and persistent. And 6. Giving due atten- 
tion to environment, sanitary conditions, and feeding. 
Breeding to a standard of excellence is considered in 
Chapter II. The great necessity for breeding only 
from animals which conform to this standard is based 
on the first ana greatest law of heredity, viz. : that 
like produces like. The necessity for breeding from 
parents purely bred is based on the increased certain- 
ty in transmission secured from such breeding. It has 
been noticed that when alien blood of one or more 
breeds is present in a marked degree, the tendencies 
to variation in transmission are also marked. This 
arises from the absence of what may be termed dom- 
inant or controlling blood elements. The physiolog- 
ical units of transmission, so to speak, that are sim- 
ilar, are not present in a sufficient number to form a 
preponderating, controlling factor in transmission. 

With the elimination of alien blood there is an 
increase in dominant or governing properties in the 
direction desired, according to the end sought. By 
the time that alien blood is eliminated so as to be an 



BREEDIXG LIVE STOCK. 9 

inappreciable factor in ordinary transmission, the 
animals may be considered pure. But the dominance 
of the blood elements is further strengthened by carry- 
ing on the breeding in the same line. Theoretically, 
the increase in the dominance of properties would go 
on as long as the same line of breeding was continued, 
but practically it would cease after many years of 
such breeding. It is only theoretically true that the 
oldest breed is absolutely the most prepotent. The 
mating of animals is discussed in Chapter XXX., and 
selection is discussed in Chapter XXIV. The in- 
fluences of environment are discussed in Chapter 
XXVIII. , and less directly in some other chapters. 
Sanitary conditions are only incidentally discussed 
in the book, and the same is true of feeding, since the 
discussion of these more properly belongs to a work 
or works on the management and feeding of live 
stock. 

Obscure Features of Breeding. — The features 
of breeding which are yet somewhat obscure and but 
imperfectly understood are such as relate to varia- 
tions in transmission. They include the laws of 
variation and atavism. The existence of these laws 
has been deduced from the results which they have 
produced without being able to ascertain all the in- 
fluences that have led to the results. But since they 
are understood in part, their action can also be 
controlled in part. For instance, it has been noticed 
that the tendency to variation decreases, as previously 
stated, with increased intensity in the purity of the 
breeding, and that the tendency to atavic transmission 
increases with increase in the admixture of alien blood. 
Such knowledge can, therefore, be turned to excellent 
account in decreasing the tendency to variation in 



10 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

transmission and also to atavism. They also include 
certain influences associated with conception, as the 
influence of a previous impregnation, intra-uterine in- 
fluences, and influences that determine the sex, dis- 
cussed in Chapters XIV., XV., and XVI., respective- 
ly. These features of breeding are even less under- 
stood than those that relate to variations in trans- 
mission, hence they are even less under the control 
of the breeder. But experience has shown that some- 
thing may be done to modify the results emanating 
from these influences. While, therefore, the obscu- 
rities which becloud some of the features of breeding 
tend to hamper the breeder somewhat in his work, 
the influences that tend to produce uniformity in 
results are so many and so strong as to furnish a 
guaranty of at least measurable uniformity in results 
and in the direction sought. 

The Chief Aim in Breeding. — The chief aim 
in breeding should be the improvement of animals 
in those qualities which have a definite value as 
meat, milk, wool, speed, and labor. These qualities 
are usually associated with more or less of beauty 
and symmetry of form. It would probably be correct 
to say, that the strengthening of these is in no way 
antagonistic to beauty and symmetry, since they are 
never more markedly present than when they may be 
said to be the outcome of fitness for the desired end. 
To illustrate : the draft horse perfectly equipped 
for his work, is quite as beautiful and symmetrical as 
the carriage horse perfectly equipped for his, but it 
is beauty and symmetry of a different character. 
Useful qualities should never be sacrificed for what 
may be termed fancy points. For the definition of 
fancy points see page 21. 



BREEDING LIVE STOCK. 11 

Concentration in the Search for Improvement. — 
The highest success has been achieved when the 
breeder has sought improvement in but one essential 
quality. In other words the breeder whose chief aim 
is to effect improvement in meat production will 
succeed better if content Avith a moderate amount of 
milk production and rice versa. The breeder of the 
draft horse cannot at the same time secure speed 
in a marked degree, nor can the breeder of the 
standard bred horse secure strength as in the draft 
horse. When high development is sought in but one 
direction the energies of the system may be made 
to act, as it were, in that one direction. They may 
be focused, so to speak, in the production of one end. 
But such concentration should never be carried so far 
as to react injuriously upon the system as a whole. 
This result will certainly follow when what may be 
termed extremest development in one direction is 
sought, The breeders of the Saxony Merino sheep ob- 
tained a finer staple in the wool than the breeders of 
other types of the Merino, but they did so at the 
sacrifice of vigor. And those who have secured what 
may be termed phenomenal yields in milk production 
have done so in many instances at the sacrifice of the 
future usefulness of the cow. They drove the animal 
machine, as it were, at too high a pressure. Neverthe- 
less the fact remains, that high attainment in one di- 
rection is not necessarily antagonistic to the mainte- 
nance of a high degree of vigor. 

While it is true that the highest attainment in 
production is reached when the energies of the system 
act in one direction, it is also true that there is no 
inherent antagonism in the action of the same up to 
a certain limit in more than one direction. Up to 



12 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

that limit, therefore, it follows, that production may 
be attained in more than one line. Experience has 
taught that liberal production may be reached in two 
lines and even in more than two lines in the same 
animal. For instance, liberal meat and milk produc- 
tion is frequently found in the same breed. "Up 
to a certain limit development in more than one 
direction is found mutually helpful. It is when de- 
velopment in one direction beeomes very marked that 
it becomes detrimental to development in the other 
direction. It is quite possible, therefore, to secure 
even a high measure of development in more than 
one line of production in the same animal. Whether 
marked development should be sought in one direc- 
tion, or medium development in more than one, will 
depend upon conditions such as relate to soil, location, 
food production, markets, and the tastes of the in- 
dividual. Experience has demonstrated that there 
is a place, and one of great importance, for the cow 
that ranks well in meat and milk production, for the 
horse that can plow in the field and carry loads to 
the market, for the sheep well up in the production 
of meat and wool, and for the fowl that lays eggs 
abundantly when alive and serves well for the table 
when dead. Such production is frequently spoken 
of as being dual in character, hence the term dual pur- 
pose cow. The large place for the special or one pur- 
pose animal, no reasonable person will deny. 

The Basis of Value in Animals. — The relative 
value of animals depends upon their adaptation to one 
or more particular uses and the returns they make 
for the food consumed. The best animals are those 
which convert the largest amount of food into animal 
products of the best quality and with the least possible 



BREEDING LIVE STOCK. 13 

waste in the materials fed. But a large consumption 
of food is not in itself a guaranty of profitable pro- 
duction. The scrub steer is usually a large consumer 
of food, but in the assimilation of the food he is 
often faulty, hence, the increase in weight from 
calf hood to maturity is not what it would be from a 
pure bred steer of one of the beef breeds, the con- 
sumption of food in both instances being the same. 
Xor would the meat made by the first be nearly as 
valuable as the meat made by the second. The only 
profit obtained from the food fed to the animal is 
from that assimilated beyond what is required for 
sustenance. Take, for instance, a dairy cow of cor- 
rect form and with good assimilative powers in diges- 
tion. A certain amount of food is required to keep 
running the machinery of her being. Xo return is 
obtained from this. The return comes from the food 
she consumes in excess of the food of maintenance. 
It is evident, therefore, that the profit from the cow 
will increase with the increase in her consumption 
of food over the food of maintenance. Other things 
being equal, then, the best returns will be obtained 
from animals that consume the most food in propor- 
tion to their live weight. 



CHAPTEE II. 

A STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE. 

It is absolutely impossible to attain marked suc- 
cess in breeding domestic animals without breeding 
them to a certain standard. The man who makes the 
attempt to do so is like the mariner who sails the 
seas without a compass. He, himself, cannot tell 
whither he is drifting. He is playing at what may 
be termed a game of chance. 

Definition of the Term. — A standard of ex- 
cellence is an ideal for the guidance of the breeder, 
and one which he should constantly aim to reach. 
This standard may be written or unwritten. Written 
standards are commonly prepared by the individual 
associations which protect the interests of the respec- 
tive breeds. Unwritten standards are ideals in breed- 
ing which exist only in the minds of individuals en- 
gaged in the work. These ideals may be original and 
exist independently, or they may be based on what 
may be termed popular opinion ; of the former class 
were the ideals held by the originators and improvers 
of breeds. These of necessity had to make their own 
standards. Of the latter class are those held by 
judges and breeders of stock in the absence of a 
written standard. The necessity for a written stand- 
ard is based on the desirability of reaching uniformity 
and high excellence in the breeding of live stock. In 
the absence of a standard in one or the other of its 
forms, such uniformity and high excellence are im- 



A STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE. 15 

possible. Even with the aid of a standard, absolute 
uniformity can never be attained in breeding, because 
of the existence of the law of variation. (See Chap- 
ter IV.) 

But it can certainly be more. nearly approximat- 
ed with than without a standard, and with the aid 
of a written standard rather than with that of one 
not written. Standards are also necessary to enable 
the teachers of the science of animal husbandry to do 
their work intelligently and with sufficient precision 
and exactness. The standard points of the living 
animal must be presented from a standard either 
written or unwritten. The advantage of the first 
method over the second will be at once apparent to all 
fair-minded men. Again, good judges of live stock 
have gone into the show ring with the boast upon 
their lips that they did not believe in standards. 
They claimed they were /going to judge the animal 
on its merits, and not by paper made standards, ob- 
livious "of the fact that every award made by them 
was based on a standard existing in their own minds. 

Standards for Purebreds. — In nearly all in- 
stances the standards for purebreds are written, but 
there are some exceptions. Rotable among these are 
the Shorthorn and Hereford breeds of cattle. That 
these breeds are yet without a written standard is not 
to be set down to the credit of the associations which 
guard the interests of the respective breeds. True, 
they have attained much celebrity without written 
standards, but that was before the era of standards 
and in spite of their absence rather than because of 
the same. The existence of written standards would 
have made impossible the Jew and Samaritan-like 
attitude that prevailed so long between the breeders 



16 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

of the Bates and Booth Shorthorns, and it would al- 
together have prevented the unfortunate controversy 
between the advocates of the white and mottled faced 
Herefords toward the close of the last century. It 
does seem unfortunate there should be any necessity 
to make a plea for the existence of written standards 
in this progressive age. 

When not written, the standard for judging 
purebreds is regulated to a considerable extent by the 
awards made in the shoAv rings by men who are gen- 
erally recognized as good judges. * The type of animal 
which more commonly gets the prize is recognized for 
the time being as the standard type. To some extent 
it is also influenced for a time by popular taste and 
the demands of the market. Some years ago the 
popular taste in this country proscribed white animals 
among Shorthorns and showed a decided preference 
for those that were red. To so great an extent was 
this unfortunate prejudice carried, that white Short- 
horns became almost unsalable for breeding uses, not- 
withstanding their individual excellence, and roan 
Shorthorns were much discriminated against. Again, 
when the Cruikshank type of Shorthorns first came 
before the public, many of the breeders of the Bates 
and Booth types refused to introduce Cruikshank 
sires into their herds. But the dealers in meat gave 
the preference to animals low and blocky in type 
and thickly fleshed, hence, the demands of the market 
compelled the breeders of the Bates and Booth types 
to introduce Scotch blood into their herds. 

The originators of breeds must make their own 
standards, as previously intimated. They are seeking 
what may be termed a creation, that is something 
different in the line of live stock from anything that 



A STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE. 17 

has previously existed. In the absence of a standard 

they must create one, whether it be written or unwrit- 
ten. 

Standard for Grades. — The standard for grades 
is unwritten, except in so far as it may have been or 
may be committed to paper from time to time by 
certain individual breeders. From the very nature 
of things it must be so in the absence of organization 
to protect the interest of grades of any class. Be- 
cause of this, uniformity in the breeding of grades 
can never be attained as in the breeding of purebreds 
with a written standard. But whether the standard 
is written or unwritten, the ideal type must be clearly 
fixed in the mind of the breeder. His work will not 
be that success which it ought to be unless his ideal 
is as clearly present to his mental vision as though 
it were on canvas or better still, a living presence 
standing before him. 

Such a standard will or should rest upon utility. 
Fancy points may be tolerated in breeding purebreds 
since they may so far evidence pure and even high 
breeding. But there would seem to be no place for 
them in grades. It will take into account the per- 
formance of the animals, as, for instance, in relation 
to speed, milk, or meat production, and prolificacy, 
since in all these respects the relation is close between 
animal form and performance resulting therefrom. 
It will also take into account the demands of the 
market. If the market should demand lean pork with 
much side meat, or fat pork with but little side meat 
the grower must give heed to such demands and 
shape his ideal accordingly. This one influence has 
tended to modify the ideal in certain breeds, as, for 
instance, in the bacon breeds of swine in Britain. 



18 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

The same is also true of certain of the types of the 
American Merino in the United States. Happily 
those changes in the popular taste are not of frequent 
occurrence and they are made but slowly. Were it 
otherwise, the possibility of breeding to a fixed ideal 
would scarcely be practicable. 

The Makers of Standards. — From what has been 
stated above it will be apparent, that in nearly all 
instances the makers of standards are the members 
of the associations formed to protect and promote 
the interests of the various pure breeds. The work 
is usually done by a committee appointed by the 
members of the association. Sometimes it is admi- 
rably done, but, in instances not a few, standards are 
quite defective. The defects include, chiefly, a lack 
of clearness, definiteness and precision in statement, 
and a want of comprehensiveness in the points cover- 
ed. Such phrases, for instance, as, "A head well set 
on," and "A good back," are well-nigh meaningless 
to the uninitiated in live stock lore. They arise, not 
from a want of knowledge on the part of those who 
frame them with reference to the requisite furnish- 
ings of the animal, but rather from a lack of felicity 
of expression in the use of language. The statement, 
though clear to the framers of the standards, may be 
far from clear to the average reader. 

Some breeds are represented by several associa- 
tions. The Poland China breed has a number of 
these. Usually this multiplication of associations 
is unfortunate, since it oftentimes results from strife 
that has sprung up in one or more of the associations 
previously formed. Happily these associations gen- 
erally adopt the same standard. When they do not 
the interests of the breed suffer. 



A STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE. 19 

Two Classes of Standards. — Two distinct classes 
of standards have been drawn up for some of these 
pure breeds. The first relates to the requisite furnish- 
ings of the animal, more especially as to external 
form, but it includes such evidences of disposition, 
stamina, and performance as may be gleaned from 
external form and also color. It is frequently spoken 
of as a scale of points, although, strictly speaking, a 
scale of points has reference to the numbers affixed 
to the various points in the standards. The terms scale 
of points and standard of excellence have frequently 
been regarded as synonymous and interchangeable. 
But, from what has been said, it will be apparent 
that the second is the more comprehensive term, since 
it includes all kinds of standards as applied to live 
stock, not excepting the scale of points. The second 
elass of standards is based upon performance. They 
are in a sense supplemental to the first, and are usual- 
ly referred to as advanced registration. They seek 
to encourage higher achievement in the breeding 
and management of live stock. 

A Scale of Points. — A more extended descrip- 
tion of a scale of points will make it to include : 1, 
size, symmetry, style, and weight; 2, evidences of 
disposition, digestion, constitution, and capacity; 3, 
what is termed quality and the amount and kind of 
bone ; 4, the general outline of form as a whole and 
the development of each part as far as discernible 
to the eye, and 5, color and fancy points, as, for in- 
stance, color markings. Symmetry relates to the 
harmony, a's to form, that exists between the different 
members of the body. Style or carriage as it may be 
termed relates to the movement of the different mem- 
bers of the body and to the position of the same w^en 



20 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

in motion. Weight should always be included in a 
scale of points though frequently it is not. For the 
evidences of disposition, digestion, constitution, and 
capacity, see Chapter XXIII., and for the evidences 
of quality, see Chapter XVIII. 

Advanced Registration. — Advanced registration 
usually records performance in animal production, 
absolutely or at different ages, and speed in trotting 
horses. It may be made to record performance in 
breeding and possibly in some other lines, as in wool 
production. Heretofore it has been confined more 
commonly to dairy cattle and to standard bred horses. 

When applied to dairy cows it takes into ac- 
count performance in the production of milk or 
butter, or both, for a term of days, weeks, months, or 
years. Only purebreds have been admitted to ad- 
vanced registration, among dairy animals, but it 
would also be possible to establish such registration 
with unrecorded animals, whatever might be thought 
of the expediency of such a course of action. When 
applied to trotting horses it records the time made 
in speeding on the track. Animals whose perform- 
ance is recorded in the advanced Registry are also 
recorded in the ordinary pedigree standards kept for 
the breed. 

Points in Standards. — In drawing up standards, 
certain numbers are used to designate perfection in 
the particular part or characteristic considered. 
These numbers vary with the importance relatively 
of the part under consideration. For instance, in 
beef cattle, while but 1 point may be assigned to the 
ear, 10 or 12 points will probably be assigned to 
the back, because of its greater relative importance. 
In some records they also vary with certain features 



A STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE. 21 

of development peculiar to the sexes. For instance, 
in dairy cows, many points may be allowed for udder 
development. In the male this could not be, but with 
him more stress is put upon other indications, as, for 
instance, those that relate to the evidences of constitu- 
tion and other features of a well developed masculin- 
ity. In other instances the numbers are affixed not to 
a single feature of development, but to a group of 
these considered collectively. For instance, so many 
marks will be assigned to the head as a whole briefly 
described, rather than to each part of the head par- 
ticularized in detail. To affix marks in detail rather 
than to certain parts grouped furnishes a more com- 
plete scale of points. And in yet other standards, ob- 
jectionable features are stated even with some minute- 
ness in detail, but no points have been affixed to these 
to discount, as it were, the valuable points. The 
numbers used in a scale of points are also sometimes 
called counts, and 100 of these are fixed upon as the 
standard of perfection. 

Fancy Points. — Fancy points are those which 
have little or no intrinsic value in themselves when 
viewed from the standpoint of utility. They are such 
as relate to color and color markings, the size and 
shape of the ear, wool on the head and legs, and dish 
in the face of pigs. It would not be correct to say that 
fancy points are of no value at all, but that they are 
only or chiefly valuable as indications of purity of 
breeding. While thus far they are valuable, the fact 
should not be overlooked that other indications could 
be made to substitute them in time without necessarily 
impairing the usefulness of the breed. They should 
never be sought at the sacrifice of important features 
of form unless when they are regarded as an essential 



22 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

evidence of purity of breeding. The red color, for 
instance, would not be admissible in an Aberdeen 
Angus, since black is the standard color. To select a 
Shorthorn bull, red in color, but inferior in form and 
pedigree, in preference to a roan would be carrying a 
fancy point to an extreme, as would also the choice of 
a Shropshire ram of but ordinary development in 
preference to one of superior development because the 
covering of the head in the first was superior. 

Advantages of Standards. — It has already been 
intimated that standards are necessary to secure 
uniformity in breeding and to make it practicable to 
teach correctly the facts relating to form. In the ab- 
sence of authorized standards, individual breeders 
set up standards for themselves which may and which 
do differ materially. The difference in type thus pro- 
duced tends to confuse. An illustration is found in 
the Bakewell and Border types of Leicesters and in 
the Bates, Booth, and Cruikshank types of Short- 
horns. Where such differences in type exist, contro- 
versy regarding them arises, and the difficulty in plac- 
ing awards in the show rings is increased, hence, the 
reputation of the breed suffers proportionately. It 
does not follow, however, that breed type should never 
be modified, but when so modified the standard should 
be made to accompany such modification. 

Standards May Change. — Standards may and 
do change, but when they do the changes are usually 
slight. They may change with the changing of 
fashion, with the changed demands of the market or to 
increase the usefulness of the breed. The favorite 
standard color in Poland China swine calls for much 
less white than formerly. The pork market calls for 
a longer and leaner side to meet the changes in the 



A STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE. 23 

popular taste, and to maintain sufficient stamina in 
some of the breeds stronger bone is needed. Modi- 
fications in some of the standards for swine have al- 
ready been made in these directions and possibly 
further modifications may yet be made. However, 
after breeds are established, the aim should be to 
conform type to standard rather than standard to 
type, hence, the necessity for keeping standards 
abreast of the needs of the times. 

Receiving Benefit from Standards. — The merest 
tyro in breeding will receive benefit from standards, 
since they will furnish him with a guide in selection 
as far as he may be capable of using them. But the 
highest benefit from standards will come to those who 
understand best the laws of breeding. In the absence 
of knowledge regarding these, the information which 
standards bring cannot be turned to the best account. 
In the hope of simplifying the study of these laws, 
the attempt will be made in the chapters which im- 
mediately follow to so define and explain them that 
the essential features thereof may be so grasped by 
the ordinary intellect that they may be turned to 
good account by anyone engaged in the breeding of 
live stock. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE LAW THAT LIKE PRODUCES LIKE. 

Breeding, like everything else in the domain 
of nature, is governed by laws. How far the action 
of these is modified by the conditions which precede 
and accompany such action is not fully known, nor 
is it likely ever to be. Nor would it be correct to say 
that all the laws or principles which relate to this 
great subject have even been discovered. But some of 
them have, and happily enough may be gleaned re- 
garding them to enable the breeder to prosecute his 
work with at least a fair measure of certainty and 
success. 

Fundamental Laws. — Of the laws or principles 
which govern breeding three may be considered as 
fundamental, viz. : 1. The law that like begets like; 
2. The law or principle of variation; and 3. The law 
or principle known as atavism. 

Not Unvarying in their Action. — Much has yet 
to be learned about these laws. They are only under- 
stood in part since no one of them, as now understood, 
is unvarying or uniform in its action. In practice 
it can never be known with absolute certainty which 
of them will dominate in determining the character 
of the offspring. It sometimes happens that the 
progeny of two parents will be possessed of high ex- 
cellence in one instance, while in the next the progeny 
of the same will be only ordinary if not indeed in- 
ferior. The result is doubtless the outcome of the 



THE LAW THAT LIKE PRODUCES LIKE. 25 

action of law in both instances, but why law should 
produce results so dissimilar when the conditions are 
as nearly alike as man can make them, is one of the 
inscrutable things that man will probably never be 
able to discover. 

It is true, nevertheless, that man is by no means 
helpless in determining what the results from mating 
animals will be. Xoting results has taught him much 
and will doubtless teach him more in the future. It 
has been noticed that the first law is more uniform 
in its action than the second and the second than the 
third. Uniformity in the action of the law that like 
produces like increases with the purity of the breed- 
ing, the duration of the period of such breeding, and 
also up to a certain limit with the closeness of the 
relationship of the animals so bred. The intensity of 
action in the second law would seem to increase with 
the increase in the distance from the conditions just 
named. And it will probably be correct to say that 
the law of atavism weakens as the starting point in 
pure breeding is receded from. By properly utilizing 
such knowledge the breeder can do much toward se- 
curing uniformity in results. An excellent illustra- 
tion of this is seen in the frontispiece representing the 
Eed Poll cow "Pretty Girl 4292" with heifer calves 
at 5 and IT months respectively, by "Pando 1254." 
The property of Capt. V. T. Hills, Delaware, O. 

The First Law Defined. — The law that like pro- 
duces like implies that the characters of parents will 
appear in their offspring, or to put it differently, that 
the offspring will bear a close resemblance to the 
parents in all important essentials. Because of this 
it may be said that this law is the great sheet anchor 
of the breeder. It is the compass without which he 



26 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

could never enter the harbor of success. The law 
that like produces like pervades all animated nature. 
It dominates the animal kingdom and it would seem 
to be but little less potent in the domain of plant 
life. When the parents are much alike in breeding 
and in all essential characteristics, this law is suffi- 
ciently uniform in its action to justify the breeder 
in looking for progeny similarly endowed. But 
where parents unlike in these respects are mated, it 
would be unreasonable to look for progeny the coun- 
terpart, in any marked degree, of both parents. In 
fact it could not be. 

The most that nature could do in that case would 
be to produce progeny that would bear resemblances 
to both parents. Those resemblances could not exist 
equally in all features of the progeny, since they dif- 
fer in the parents. But even where the mating is 
eminently correct, there are some exceptions to uni- 
formity of action in this law. Were it otherwise, 
there would not be the same room for the existence of 
the law of variation, nor would there be any necessity 
for examples to illustrate it and proofs to support 
it. Had it been unvarying in its action, it is probable 
that it would not have received any other attention 
than the mere recognition of its existence. 

This Law Early Recognized. — We are too prone 
to conclude that but little was known with reference 
to the art of breeding until within a comparatively 
recent period. Such a view is not correct. The short 
cut to improvement through in-and-in breeding does 
not appear to have been practiced before the time of 
Bakewell. But the existence of the law has unques- 
tionably been recognized for a very long period. It 
is equally certain that many of its principles were 



THE LAW THAT LIKE PRODUCES LIKE. 27 

well understood. Evidence of the same is found in 
the breeding operations conducted by the patriarch 
Jacob. The narrative of the management of his 
father-in-law's flocks makes it clear that much atten- 
tion had been given to the subject at least eighteen 
centuries before the modern era. The influence of ex- 
ternal objects in determining color had been so far 
recognized that the patriarch was enabled to turn the 
knowledge to excellent account, that is to say, so far 
as his own personal interests w r ere concerned. The 
statement of holy writ with reference to the color of 
the males in actual service as seen in the vision, is 
a clear recognition of the law now under discussion. 
Further evidence is furnished in the monstrous forms 
that were bred for the amusement of the Roman 
people about the time that the decline of the empire 
began. The very fact that such monstrosities were 
then produced tends to show that experimental cross- 
ing had been practiced long before that era. The 
pedigrees kept by the Arabs of their horses centuries 
before the era of pedigrees began among Anglo-Saxon 
peoples furnish additional evidence of the certainty 
of the comparatively early recognition of the law that 
like produces like by that nation of wanderers, and 
of the importance which they attached to it. The 
justification of pedigrees could not exist in the ab- 
sence of such a law. 

Illustrations in the Human Family. — When ap- 
plied to the human family the law that like produces 
like finds ample illustration in the distinctive pe- 
culiarities of feature common to the different races. 
Each of the five different races into which mankind 
has been divided has distinctive peculiarities. These 
are such as relate to physical form, color, and intellec- 



28 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

tual development: It is further illustrated by the 
differences and resemblances observable in sub-divi- 
sions within each race, and more especially in those 
sub-divisions in which there has been no mingling of 
- alien blood. While the various tribes of North Amer- 
ican Indians which dwelt amid the forests possessed 
in common certain peculiarities, as, for instance, the 
copper color and the straight hair, each individual 
tribe possessed peculiarities more or less common to 
all the individuals thereof and yet different from 
those in other tribes. Yet, again, it is illustrated in 
the resemblances discernible in very many instances 
between the members of the same family. So strong 
are these resemblances that oftentimes the family 
relationship of each can thus be discerned- These 
resemblances cannot be accidental. Admit the exist- 
ence and the potency of the law that like produces 
like, am. the explanation is easy. Deny it and no 
satisfactory explanation can be given. 

Uniformity in Results. — The degree of uni- 
formity in the results obtained in breeding will be 
largely dependent on the methods of the breeder. In 
no instance will they be absolutely uniform else 
there could be no law of variation. But so generally 
uniform will these results be that the skillful breeder 
may carry on his operations with no little certainty. 
But before he can succeed thus he must, in the first 
place, breed to a standard of excellence. Such a 
standard must determine his choice of breeding ani- 
mals. It must guide him in mating them. It must 
be ever present while selections are being made. It, 
too, must determine which shall be discarded. Sec- 
ond, he must set a proper value on improved blood. 
The value of such blood as a factor in breeding has 



THE LAW THAT LIKE PRODUCES LIKE. 29 

already been referred to in Chapter L, and is further 
discussed below in the present chapter. And third, 
he me st understand the art of selection and the prin- 
ciples of management generally. The question of 
selection is discussed in Chapter XXIV. The prin- 
ciples of management are so comprehensive that they 
cannot be stated here. The author hopes to discuss 
these sometime in the future, when writing on the 
subject of feeding. 

Benefits Arising from this Law. — The following- 
are chief among the practical benefits that may result 
to breeders because of the existence of the law that 
like produces like : First, it makes it possible for 
them to effect improvement until a certain standard of 
excellence is reached. The standard thus set may 
be placed Avhere they are pleased to place it. The 
standard of no breed in existence has been raised to 
the level to which it is possible to bring it. Standard 
bred horses have probably been brought nearest to 
the limit of possible improvement, but there are no 
good reasons for supposing that the speed of such 
horses will not be farther increased. Second, it makes 
it possible for breeders to maintain improvement. In 
all animated nature there would seem to be an in- 
herent tendency in the direction of deterioration in 
the absence of influences, natural or artificial, such as 
tend to secure the survival of the fittest. And to pre- 
vent such deterioration it would seem to be necessary 
that these influences are continually operative. 

This statement may and doubtless will be chal- 
lenged, and in- certain instances with much show of 
truth, but in the judgment of the author, the history 
of the animal and vegetable kingdoms since man 
left Eden, will sustain it. But the law is sufficient! v 



30 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

uniform and constant in its action to enable the breed- 
er to more than counteract such tendencies when the 
work is properly conducted. Third, it makes it pos- 
sible to form new breeds and to mold new types. 
Mature can accomplish both because of the existence 
of this law. Turn loose into nature's domain a num- 
ber of cattle comprising representatives of several of 
the improved breeds and where the conditions are such 
that they can be maintained without the aid of man, 
and in time nature will mold them into a new breed. 
Give her time enough and the resemblances between 
the progeny of those diverse breeds will be striking. 
Take some of those animals and again relegate them 
to the care of nature where the conditions are differ- 
ent, and the type will be changed. These modifica- 
tions would be impossible were it not for the fact that 
in animal breeding, when alien blood is excluded, 
the tendencies toward assimilation would seem to be 
decidedly stronger than toward variation. What na- 
ture, unaided, can do can be done more quickly when 
man comes to the aid of nature, and makes a more 
rigorous selection than nature could make without 
the aid of man. 

Benefits from Want of Uniformity in this Law. 
— The exceptions to the want of uniformity in this 
law have been taken advantage of, 1, to improve the 
standard of the breed, and 2, to form certain breeds 
and mold certain types which could not otherwise 
have been called into existence. These statements, 
though apparently contradictory to those just given, 
are not really so. While the evolution of breeds is the 
outcome of general uniformity in the action of the law 
that like produces like when aided by selection, it is 
equally true that some breeds could never have been 



THE LAW THAT LIKE PRODUCES LIKE. 31 

evolved at all but for the absence of such absolute 
uniformity. Such are the polled breeds of cattle and 
certain of the improved breeds of sheep from which 
the horns have been eliminated. J^or could the level 
of improvement have been raised had none of the 
progeny varied to the extent of exceeding their par- 
ents in desirable development. The discussion of 
this question will be further considered in Chapter 
IV. 

It may also be proper to mention here that varia- 
tions in type within a pure breed are seldom to be 
desired, since, when made to the extent of practically 
supplanting a type previously existing, they neces- 
sitate a change in the standard of excellence. The 
more of diversity in type found within a breed the 
greater the want of unity and harmony among the 
breeders, and when such conditions exist the interests 
of the breed suffer in proportion as these are present. 

Transmission in Mixed Breeding. — In cross- 
breeding and grading where different types are mated, 
the result is in a sense a mean between the two. The 
progeny cannot be exactly like either. The charac- 
teristics of both parents are transmitted in part, but 
they are seldom transmitted equally. There is in 
nearly all instances a preponderance in resemblance 
to one parent or the other, arising in a great measure, 
at least, from the greater prepotency of that parent 
which is most closely resembled in the progeny. Pre- 
potency is discussed in Chapter IX. 

Influences that Affect the Action of this Law. — 
The influences that affect the action of the law that 
like produces like are strong : First, in proportion to 
the purity of the breeding in one or both parents. 
This will be readily apparent from what has been 



32 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

said in Chapter L, page 8, when treating of breed- 
ing from parents whose ancestors have long been bred 
without any admixture of alien blood. The influence 
of alien blood must prove a disturbing factor to 
potency in transmission, since it is alien, and the de- 
gree of such disturbance will be proportionate to the 
degree in which alien blood is present, and to the de- 
gree in which it fails to harmonize with the dominant 
blood elements in the animals. In other words it will 
increase the tendency to variation in transmission. 

Second, it will be strong in proportion to the 
period during which the animals have been bred 
pure. This, at least, is true up to a certain limit of du- 
ration. Whether a time comes when antiquity in the 
purity of the breeding ceases to affect the influences 
concerned in transmission has not been determined. 
In other words it has not been determined whether 
purity of breeding for a thousand years is a greater 
power than purity of breeding for five hundred years. 
If there is a time, as would seem probable, when 
duration in purity of breeding ceases appreciably to 
affect transmission, that time has not been determin- 
ed, and if it could be, it would probably not be the 
same in all breeds. Experience has shown that one 
hundred years of pure breeding assures much potency 
in transmission, as evidenced in more than one of 
the dark faced breeds of sheep. 

Third, it is strong in proportion to the closeness 
of the blood relationship in the parents. For instance, 
the progeny of animals closely related have usually 
a closer resemblance to the parents and to one another 
than the progeny of animals of the same breed but 
not closely related. The blood elements in the former 
would seem to have a stronger affinity ; but why, has 



THE LAW THAT LIKE PRODUCES LIKE. 33 

not been fully explained. This fact, however, has 
been turned to good account by the originators of 
new breeds. (See Chapter XXVII.) 

Fourth, it Avill be strong in proportion to the 
nearness of the resemblance of the parents to one 
another in structure and form and in all leading 
characteristics. Conversely, it will be weak in pro- 
portion as the opposites of these are present in the 
parents. 

It is evident that the more nearly the parents 
resemble one another in the features named, and in 
fact in all features, the less will be the gap to be 
bridged over in the process of assimilation through 
transmission. For instance, a well developed hind 
flank is more likely to be present in the progeny when 
this feature of form is correct in both parents than 
when it is correct only in one. Potency in transmis- 
sion, therefore, will be strong in proportion to the in- 
tensity of the sum of all these influences acting in 
conjunction. 

Features of Resemblance in the Offspring. — The 
resemblance of the offspring to the parents produced 
by the action of this law is not, by any means, con- 
fined to external form, although the evidences of such 
resemblance are thus most readily observed. It ex- 
tends to every physical feature of the organization, 
as, for instance, structure, function, color, hair, and 
handling qualities. The rounded out, somewhat 
cylindrical form of Aberdeen polled cattle illustrates 
transmission in structure. The progeny of these have 
this form of body in contrast to the more square 
body of the Shorthorn because the parents have the 
same. The easy action of the limbs in the trotting 
horse and the more labored action in the limbs of 



34 ANIMAL BKEEDING. 

the draft horse are illustrations of transmission in 
function. The black and white color in Holstein 
cattle, the white hairs never mingling with the black, 
illustrates transmission in color. The long, wavy hair 
possessed, more or less, by all Galloways and the short 
hair that characterizes Jerseys, illustrate transmis- 
sion as to the nature of the hair. The strong, harsh 
hide in the scrub, and the soft, pliant hide in the 
Guernsey, illustrate transmission in handling quali- 
ties. 

This resemblance also extends to habit and to the 
mental traits which frequently control habit and 
govern the disposition. A cow whose ancestors have 
grazed on the range for generations, will go dry in 
five or six months from the date of calving, while the 
period of lactation in the cow whose ancestors have 
been in the dairy for an equal number of generations 
will be not less than ten months. The difference 
illustrates transmission in habit. The young collie 
dog instinctively takes to the heels in driving because 
its ancestors have done so from time immemorial. 
The lambs of sheep used to the corral take kindly 
to the same, while those of other sheep are restless for 
a time under such restraint. These are illustrations 
of mental traits which control habit. The progeny of 
a bull, naturally vicious, are also likely to possess this 
trait in at least some degree. The calf of a cow whose 
ancestors have been in the dairy for generations can 
usually be taught to drink in a day, while the calf of 
a cow whose ancestors had roamed for several genera- 
tions on the range would pretty certainly require 
several days to accomplish the same end. These are 
illustrations of mental traits that govern the disposi- 
tion. Furthermore, this resemblance extends to ab- 



THE LAW THAT LIKE PEODUCES LIKE. 35 

normal qualities including diseases. The transmis- 
sion of abnormal qualities is discussed in Chapter VI. 
and of diseases in Chapter VII. 

Transmission Seldom Equal in Parents. — Theo- 
retically one half of the characters possessed by the 
progeny when the conditions are apparently equal will 
be inherited from each parent. In fact, however, such 
a result is probably very seldom found. Though the 
qualities are apparently equal, they will probably not 
be so in reality. One will almost certainly be more 
prepotent than the other, while the evidences of this 
difference may not be apparent in the external in- 
dividuality of each. The same is sometimes true of 
inherent vigor. When a preponderance of these and 
kindred influences are present, they will certainly ac- 
cord to the parent possessing the same, an excess 
of influence in transmission, and yet, such preponder- 
ance may not be known beforehand. The deduction, 
therefore, is legitimate, that the sum of the characters 
inherited from one parent seldom or never equals the 
sum of the same inherited from the other. 



CHAPTEK IV. 

THE LAAV OR PRINCIPLE OF VARIATION. 

It lias been noticed that in many instances the 
progeny are not like the parents in every particular. 
Sometimes the difference is very slight and confined 
to but few particulars. At other times it is very mark- 
ed and extends to many features, both of form and 
characteristics. And since these variations are never 
entirely absent, it would seem to indicate the exist- 
ence of a law or principle in heredity that produces 
results different from the first great law of heredity, 
that is, the law that like produces like. 

The Laic of Variation Defined. — The law of va- 
riation may be defined as the tendency in animals 
to produce characters which differ from those of the 
paternal type. It may not unfitly be termed the 
law that like does not always produce like. These 
two laws, viz., the law that like produces like and 
the law of variation, would seem to be antagonistic 
to one another. That two such principles should be 
found concerned in transmission, however, is not more 
improbable than that the two opposing principles of 
good and evil should be found in the one moral nature. 
These changes may relate to both form and function. 
Lack of capacity in the barrel of a female as compared 
with the same in her dam, illustrates the first, and 
decreased milk production in the progeny as compar- 
ed with milk production in the dam, illustrates the 
second. In time, these changes may become so pro- 



THE LAW OR PRINCIPLE OF VARIATION. Si 

nounced in certain directions as to become modifica- 
tions of the systems of animals. Such are some of 
the. changes that follow a change of environment. 
Since these variations differ greatly in the time which 
is necessary to produce them, and also in their in- 
tensity, they may be classed as gradual, or general 
and ordinary, and as sudden or spontaneous and ex- 
traordinary. 

General Variation Defined. — General variation 
is that tendency to change from the original type 
which characterizes in a greater or a less degree all 
the individuals of a breed. Sometimes it is in the 
line of improvement and sometimes in that of retro- 
gression. The general direction which such variation 
will take will depend upon the causes which lead to 
it. These are given below under the proper head- 
ing. In either case it is an effort of nature to adjust 
the system to the surrounding conditions. But this 
does not explain the cause of variations that constant- 
ly occur in some degree in animals, when the condi- 
tions are as uniform as man can make them. The 
causes in these instances are to be looked for from 
within rather than from without, and they are such as 
relate to dominance in transmitting properties, or in 
what may be termed units of transmission. 

General Variation Illustrated. — Illustrations of 
the principle of general variation may be found: 
First, in the tendency of grain to deteriorate when it 
has fallen upon an unkindly soil. This variation af- 
fects not only the straw but also the grain. There 
will, likewise, -be variation in the time of maturing 
and in the ability to withstand disease. Second, in the 
quick deterioration of the heavy breeds of sheep when 
confined to unproductive or rugged pastures. Such 



38 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

sheep cannot find sufficient sustenance on those pas- 
tures without expending more strength and energy 
than the system can spare. It, therefore, seeks adjust- 
ment by reducing the size and weight of the sheep and 
by lessening the weight of the fleece. And the oppo- 
site is true of sheep taken to richer and more level pas- 
tures than those which they have previously been ac- 
customed to. Third, in the tendency to the produc- 
tion of fat developed in the Hereford simultaneously 
with a diminished production of milk. A cen- 
tury ago many cows of this breed were abundant 
producers of milk. Now, that early maturity is 
so much sought in this famous breed of grazing 
cattle, free milk production in the dams is the excep- 
tion. And fourth, in the exceeding fineness of fleece 
developed in the Saxon Merino but at the cost of 
diminished vigor. The causes which led to the pro- 
duction of wool so fine grew out of the management 
of the flocks and cannot now be further dwelt upon. 

The Causes of General Variation. — The causes 
of general variation in animals are numerous, but 
chief among them are the following, viz. : Changed 
conditions of life, as climate, food, and general en- 
vironment, also habit and dominance in internal pow- 
ers of transmission. Climate, food, and environment 
are discussed in Chapters XX. and XXVIII. Habit 
is largely the outcome of management. It is happily 
illustrated in the more or less permanent increase or 
decrease in milk production in females, based upon 
the general management of the same through succes- 
sive generations. The variations caused by domi- 
nance in the internal powers of transmission are less 
abiding. They are also less well understood, and 
consequently less perfectly under the control of man. 



THE LAW OR PRINCIPLE OF VARIATION. 3D 

These influences are so intimately connected that 
oftentimes it is difficult to determine what is due to 
each. Doubtless, in some instances, they all act in 
conjunction. Probably in others some of them are 
antagonistic 'forces and made so by natural conditions 
or by management. A happy climate and sparse food 
production would be an instance of the first, and 
abundant food production accompanied by ill treat- 
ment or neglect an instance of the latter. General 
variation will be hastened or retarded very largely 
in proportion as these causes act in the same direction 
or otherwise. 

Food a Powerful Factor in Variation. — The va- 
riations in the improved breeds with reference to the 
increased production of meat, milk, and wool are 
largely due to a liberal supply of nutritious food dur- 
ing the period of growth. Without such aid the mark- 
ed improvement made during the past century could 
never have been secured, ^or can it be maintained 
in the absence of such supplies. It would probably 
be correct to say that up to a certain point, food has 
been more potent in affecting variation in the line of 
improvement than any single influence. Tn some in- 
stances this improvement has been realized in direc- 
tions where primarily it was not sought. Illustrations 
are found in the breeding of sheep both in England 
and America. With many of the breeds in these 
respective countries, the dominant aim of the breeder 
was to effect improvement in the production of mut- 
ton. But it was also found, that improvement was 
effected in the, production of wool. The weight of 
the fleece w#s not only increased, but the strength 
of the fiber was also improved. It has also been found 
that when improvement has been carried beyond a 



40 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

certain limit in one direction, in some instances it has 
been followed bv retrogression in other directions. 
Improvement in the beef and mutton form of cattle 
and sheep, respectively, has frequently been carried 
so far that it has resulted in a decrease in milk pro- 
duction and also to a lessened power to breed well. 
Increased compactness of form in some of the breeds 
of swine has also been followed by decreased fecun- 
dity. 

Spontaneous Variation Defined. — Spontaneous 
variation may be defined as that tendency sometimes 
found in animals to produce progeny more or less un- 
like either the parents or the ancestry of these. It 
differs from general variation in its violence and in- 
tensity, that is to say, it differs in degree, and it dif- 
fers also in the greater tendency tow T ard individualiza- 
tion. The changes in ordinary variation are gradual. 
They only become marked, when, by increase or de- 
crease through repetition, there is, as it were, accumu- 
lation in variation. When the changes are sudden 
and extreme they may be said to be violent, and 
when the tendency is strong in these sudden varia- 
tions to reproduce and perpetuate themselves, they 
may be said to be intense. Moreover, in ordinary 
variation the tendency to change in certain directions 
may affect many of the animals in a herd or even in 
a hived, whereas, in spontaneous variation they relate 
to but one animal. As with general variation, the 
change is sometimes in the direction of improvement 
and at other times in the direction of retrogression. 
It is also less under the control of the individual than 
ordinary variation. The latter is in many of its 
phases measurably controlled by the breeder, but not 
so the former, since it cannot be known beforehand 
when it will appear nor in what form. 



THE LAW OR PRINCIPLE OF VARIATION. 41 

Spontaneous Variation not Well Understood. — 
But little is known definitely regarding the action 
of this law or the principles that control it. It is 
thought in some instances that spontaneous variations 
arise from a sudden shock given to the pregnant moth- 
er, and in other instances from mental impressions at 
the time of conception or during the early stages of 
pregnancy. Thus, it is probable, that monstrosities 
are sometimes produced. These influences, as already 
intimated, would seem to be much more potent during 
the earlier stages of development in the foetus. 
Whether this will apply to psychical as to physical 
development has not been positively ascertained. But 
these influences do not explain nearly all the instances 
of spontaneous variation which occur. They do not 
occur regularly or in any fixed order and since man 
cannot anticipate them he is almost entirely helpless 
to prevent them. And yet it may be true that they 
are as much under the control of law as transmission 
in the direction of likeness. 

Illustrations of 8po?itaneous Variation. — Illus- 
trations of the principle of spontaneous variation are 
found, first, in the occasional production of monstros- 
ities. These are products of conception, sometimes 
alive, but more frequently not living at birth, and so 
malformed as to shock the sense of the fitness of 
things. Sometimes they are greatly defective in cer- 
tain physical features of their being, and in other 
instances they have these in excess. A rabbit with 
but one ear would furnish what may be termed a 
mild instance of the former, and a calf with two heads 
or six legs an instance of the latter. The cause of mal- 
formations is discussed in Chapter XV. They are 
found, second, in the production of progeny very un- 



42 



ANIMAL BREEDING. 




. O « 

6*S 



9 > 



0D » 

Pi - - 
J 8.* 

flee 

U iJDfl 



THE LAW OR PRINCIPLE OF VARIATION. 43 

like the parents or the ancestry in color, form, and 
other characteristics. A black sheep appearing in a 
Hock in which no animals of that color had ever ap- 
peared before would furnish an instance of the first ; 
a dairy bred calf possessed in a considerable degree of 
the essentials of beef production furnishes an instance 
of the second ; and a child of unusual timidity, the 
offspring of courageous parents and descended from 
a courageous ancestry, furnishes an instance of the 
third. A further illustration is found in the case of 
a woman on exhibition in Minneapolis in 1895, who 
was more than eight feet high, although neither of her 
parents were of more than average size. They are 
found, third, in the various hornless breeds of cattle. 
It is now considered certain that these are all descend- 
ed from races which at one time were horned. This 
conclusion is sustained by the absence of hornless 
specimens in the more ancient of the geological forma- 
tions in which the skeletons of cattle are found, and 
also by what is known regarding the origin of at least 
some of the hornless breeds. 

Spontaneous Variations Cannot Perpetuate 
Themselves, — That spontaneous variations cannot 
perpetuate themselves unaided by man is owing large- 
ly to the infrequency with which they occur. Even 
under circumstances that are deemed most favorable 
to their production their occurrence is infrequent. So 
infrequent are they in some well bred herds, that the 
owners may not be able to cite a single instance of 
such variation at all pronounced in a lifelong experi- 
ence in breeding. 

It is certainly fortunate that it is so, for in a 
large majority of instances they are disturbing factors 
in breeding. So infrequent are they, that notwith- 



44 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

standing the marked power which they often have to 
reproduce themselves they are soon obliterated 
through the overwhelming preponderance of blood 
flowing in normal channels. Because of this it would 
probably be impossible for any instance of spontane- 
ous variation to perpetuate itself so as to become a 
peculiarity of the breed, without the aid of man. But 
when man comes to the rescue^ as he has done in 
forming the hornless breeds, he can, through judicious 
selection, make the new characteristic a characteristic 
of all the animals of the breed. The fact, however, 
must not be overlooked that some forms of ordinary 
variation are secured and perpetuated through chang- 
ed conditions. Take, for instance, Shetland ponies 
to a milder climate and surroundings of improved 
food production, and they will increase in size even 
though running wild. 

Variations more readily Produced in Domestic 
Animals. — Variations in both forms and the suscep- 
tibility to them are more readily produced in domesti- 
cated than in wild animals. This is owing to the 
greater changes in the conditions that surround the 
former. The conditions that surround wild animals 
are much the same from generation to generation. 
Those to which domesticated animals are subjected 
are frequently changed, and in some instances the 
changes are marked. All changes in surroundings 
and management tend to produce variation, as pre- 
viously shown, and this tendency is markedly 
strengthened by the admixing of alien blood elements. 
That variations would multiply, therefore, as changed 
conditions and mixed breeding increase, is what is to 
be expected, and that the violence of such changes 
would increase with the intensity of changed condi- 



THE LAW OR PRINCIPLE OE VARIATION. 45 

tions is a natural sequence. It is also owing to the 
greater resistance to variation offered by wild animals 
through fixity of type of long duration. 

It has been shown that purity of breeding long 
continued is a dominant factor in producing certainty 
in transmission. (See page 32.) It follows, there- 
fore, that the opposite of this will also prove true, 
that is to say, that the decrease in the duration of 
the. period of pure breeding will lead to an increase 
in variation. But it would not be quite safe to say 
that duration in breeding in any line, hoAvever long 
continued, would so intensify heredity that variations 
even spontaneous in character would never occur. 

Perpetuating Variations. — In a preceding para- 
graph it has been shown that variations cannot per- 
petuate themselves unaided by man, save through 
changed conditions, and that even with changed con- 
ditions, spontaneous variations cannot perpetuate 
themselves without such aid. It is true, nevertheless, 
that when variations do occur, there is in them fre- 
quently an inherent tendency to reproduce and per- 
petuate themselves. Particularly is this true of some 
forms of spontaneous variation. For instance, when, 
in a pure horned breed a hornless male appears, and 
is mated with females of the same breed, it is almost 
certain that a majority of the progeny will be horn- 
less. Because of this, improvement has been made 
possible in breeds by selecting the desirable variants 
and breeding from them so as to effect further im- 
provement. On this principle, also, new breeds have 
been formed ppssessed of distinct peculiarities, as, for 
instance, one branch of the Polled Durhams. 

^Nearly all the breeds of sheep and swine that 
have been improved chiefly by using materials within 



46 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

the breed itself, have been so improved by taking ad- 
vantage of distinctive variations that existed at the 
time when the improvement began and that subse- 
quently appeared and breeding the animals with a 
view to render these permanent. JSTotably was this 
true of the old Dishley breed of sheep which the 
genius of Bakewell transformed into what has since 
been known as the Leicester breed. It is true never- 
theless, that in a larger number of instances trans- 
forming power has been brought in through cross- 
breeding, and for the reason that the desirable varia- 
tions were more readily secured in animals of another 
breed. But when the latter method is chosen the 
tendency to revert to the original type is much strong- 
er, hence permanent improvement is slower. This 
tendency to reversion is very marked in hybrid plants. 
For many generations do they show a tendency to 
reversion. Variations in type within a breed that 
have assumed what may be termed fixity of type, 
have also been used to effect improvement by fusing 
or intercrossing them, if the term may be thus used. 
It was thus that the Cruikshank Shorthorns were 
evolved through more or less of the blending of Bates 
and Booth blood, accompanied by selecting to a type 
different from either. 

Variation Consonant with Highest Develop- 
ment. — The repeated and systematic exercise of any 
organ or set of organs is necessary to secure and main- 
tain variation consonant with the highest develop- 
ment, as witnessed in the training of athletes. Again 
and again it is necessary for them to repeat the same 
acts until performing them requires but little effort, 
unless the performance of these particular acts is 
very extreme. But even when thus secured in the in- 



THE LAW OB. PRINCIPLE OF VARIATION. 47 

dividual, several generations of such training would 
be necessary before what may be termed a family of 
athletes could be produced. Such a necessity is also 
shown in the development of the milk-giving function 
in cows. Milking qualities of the highest type could 
not be secured by transmission alone, that is to say, 
by selecting from cows noted for milk production and 
by breeding only from them. It is also further neces- 
sary to milk them by hand so that all the milk may 
be taken from them, to breed them young that the 
en orgies of the system may be early turned to milk- 
production, and to milk them for a long period that 
persistence in milk production may be secured. In 
other words it is necessary to strengthen the milk 
giving function through what may be termed repeti- 
tion in milk-giving. 

The same is true of the strengthening of the in- 
tellectual powers. By repetition in effort the mental 
powers of the individual are strengthened. What is 
thus grained is secured in part bv transmission, and 
through repetition in effort in the same direction, 
a higher level is reached. Thus it is that nations 
become possessed of individual characteristics, and 
thus it is that they are lifted to higher levels of at- 
tainment. 

Power of Transmission in Some Families. — 
Some families of a breed have a much greater power 
in transmitting their peculiarities than others, and 
for the reason that these have been intensified by a 
certain line of breeding. Illustrations may be found 
in the Webb Southdowns, in what is sometimes term- 
ed the Dishley Leicesters and Longhorns, and in the 
Ben Tompkins sort of TIerefords. In these respective 
instances families had been evolved within the breed. 



48 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

They had been so evolved through the aid of in-and-in 
breeding, a process which speedily intensified proper- 
ties. Males of correct form and qualities that have 
been thus bred are able to secure desirable variations 
in the progeny, and to render them permanent. It is 
this persistency of transmission which makes varia- 
tion possible in improving breeds in a certain direc- 
tion already established and in producing new ones. 
Were it otherwise, what would be gained in one gen- 
eration would be lost in the next. 



CHAPTER V. 



THE LAW OF ATAVISM. 



It has been shown, that by the first great law 
of breeding, viz., the law that like produces like, im- 
provement may be secured in a definite line through 
judicious breeding. It has also been shown that 
through the second law of breeding, viz., the law of 
variation, higher improvement may be secured when 
the proper steps are taken to perpetuate desirable va- 
riations and to eliminate those that are undesirable. 
There is yet another feature of breeding frequently 
spoken of as atavism, that cannot, properly speaking, 
be said to come within the realm of either of the above 
laws. The evidences of it are so frequently apparent 
as to justify the conclusion, that, notwithstanding 
the erratic character of its action, it is under the di- 
rection of law. It will, therefore, be denominated 
the third law of breeding. 

Definition of Atavism. — By atavism is meant 
that innate tendency in animals to revert to the orig- 
inal type. It is frequently spoken of as reversion, at 
other times as throwing back and yet again as breed- 
ing back. It differs from the law that like produces 
like in the production of resemblances to an ancestry 
more or less remote rather than to the parents or to 
a near ancestry. How far back these resemblances 
may be traced is not certainly known, but they have 
been traced to several, even to many generations. It 
differs from the law of variation in producing resem- 



50 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

blances to an ancestry more remote than the parents 
or the near ancestry, whereas the latter prodnces dis- 
similarity to the ancestry whether near or remote. 

Illustrations of Atavic Transmission. — Illustra- 
tions of atavic transmission may be found : 1, In the 
occasional appearance of scurs or horns in the polled 
breeds of cattle bred pure for many generations. 2, 
In the Shorthorn herd books, where many instances 
of atavic inheritance are found which appertain to 
color. 3, In the occasional appearance of tan-colored 
spots on the ears and face of the American Merino. 
And 4, in the occasional out-cropping of physical de- 
fects and peculiarities in the human family after the 
interval of generations. Scurs or miniature horns 
appear with more or less frequency in the polled 
breeds, notwithstanding the efforts of the breeders 
to remove them entirely. In some instances these 
efforts have been persistent for more than a century. 
The same is true of the white color in Shorthorns, 
notwithstanding the deep rooted prejudice against 
this color during the past decades. The breeders of 
American Merinos have sought for more than half 
a century to remove the tan-colored spots which at 
one time more or less characterized the face and ears 
of many individuals of the old Spanish Merino breed, 
and yet they appear occasionally. Physical defects, 
as, for instance, a deficiency in the proper number of 
fingers, have frequently appeared in descendants re- 
moved several generations from ancestors thus affect- 
ed. 

Forms of Atavic Transmission. — Atavic trans- 
mission may relate to form, color, habits, mental 
traits, predisposition to disease, and, indeed, to any 
feature of the organization. The comparative fre- 



THE LAW OF ATAVISM. 51 

quency of the light thigh in the Hereford, notwith- 
standing the efforts of breeders to remove it during 
recent decades, illustrates atavic transmission relat- 
ing to form. The occasional appearance of a belted 
Galloway furnishes an illustration of atavic transmis- 
sion relating to color in addition to that given above. 
The occasional production of a superior milking cow 
in breeds long bred almost wholly for beef production 
is an instance of atavic transmission pertaining to 
habit, and also to function. The love of the descend- 
ants of the Indian for a comparatively idle life and 
also for a roaming life after the lapse of generations 
and after the effort of generations to teach him habits 
of industry, furnishes an illustration of the atavic 
transmission of mental traits. The appearance of 
certain tuberculous diseases after the lapse of several 
generations, not only illustrates the atavic transmis- 
sion of those diseases, but of the tendency to the same 
through the intervening generations. These illustra- 
tions could be multiplied indefinitely. Not only is it 
true that these peculiarities may appear in the off- 
spring without having appeared for many generations 
previously, but it is also true that they have been 
transmitted without the possibility of detecting even 
a trace of their presence, and yet it is doubtless true 
that the tendency to produce them was present all the 
while, though in what may be termed the latent form. 
Other influences were doubtless present which kept 
those tendencies quiescent for the time being. 

Atavic Transmission not Well Understood. — ■ 
The laws which control atavic transmission are very 
imperfectly understood. Much less is known with 
reference to the influences which control them than 
with reference to those which control ordinary varia- 



52 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

tion. From certain lines of breeding, as, for instance, 
cross-breeding, variation may be expected. The same 
is true of animals of the same breed widely dissimilar 
in form when bred together. It could not be other- 
wise, since elements positively alien are blended in 
the first instance and elements of dissimilarity in 
form are fused in the second. The attempt, at least, 
is made to blend in the one instance and to fuse in 
the other. But it cannot be known beforehand just 
when atavic transmission will appear any more than 
the extent of the same may be known when it does 
appear. The conclusion is legitimate then, that the 
laws which control atavic transmission are apparently 
uncertain and variable in their action. But this un- 
certainty and variability is doubtless only apparent. 
What appear to be erratic results is doubtless the out- 
come of influences, some of which are so subtle as to 
be beyond the realm of human scrutiny. In some 
instances it is not easy to distinguish between what 
appertains to atavic transmission from that which 
is the outcome of spontaneous variation. It may be 
that in some instances the two principles act in con- 
junction. 

Two Classes of Atavic Transmissioii. — The ob- 
served instances of atavic transmission have been 
divided into two classes. To the first class is re- 
ferred the reappearance of lost characters in pure- 
breds after the interval of a number of generations. 
To this class would belong the reappearance of the 
undesired dark muzzle in Shorthorns, the reappear- 
ance of scurs in the dark faced breeds of sheep, of 
bristles in the improved breeds of swine, and of the 
red color in the Aberdeen Angus Polls. It w T ould not 
be quite correct to say that these are in no degree 



THE LAW OF ATAVISM. 53 

under the control of man, since it has been observed 
that the tendencies to reversion decrease with increase 
in the duration of the breeding in a certain line. To 
the second class belong those instances in cross-breed- 
ing where a peculiarity of the animal used to effect 
the cross appears which had not formerly occurred in 
the cross-bred descendants, or which had been early 
lost on the return to the use of a single strain upon 
the descendants of the cross. 

For instance, when a Galloway sire is used on 
a pure-bred of one of the horned breeds, the horns 
are almost certainly absent in the first cross because 
of the greater prepotency of the Galloway blood, 
based, doubtless, in a considerable degree on the long- 
er period of pure breeding in the Galloways. The 
absence of horns will almost certainly characterize 
successive generations of the descendants when the 
use of pure Galloway blood is continued. But there 
might be instances when horns or scurs would again 
crop out. If so, they would almost certainly arise as 
a result of the cross-breeding, that is to say, as a result 
of what may be termed latent potency in the pure 
breed first crossed upon by the Galloway. Such a 
conclusion finds countenance in the fact, that atavic 
transmission is much less rare in the progeny of pure 
bred animals than in the progeny of cross breds. Ob- 
servation has also shown that atavic transmission is 
much less frequent in the progeny of animals of mix- 
ed breeding that are unexpectedly crossed upon by 
pure breds, than if both breeds were pure when first 
mated. 

Influences that tend to Produce Atavic Trans- 
mission. — The tendencies to atavism would seem to 
be strong in proportion: 1, To the want of duration 



54 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

in the purity of the breeding. 2, To the lack of purity 
in the blood when alien pure breds are bred together. 
3, To the lack of purity in the blood when animals 
of the so-called pure breeds are mated, that is animals 
of the same breed. And 4, to the lack of prepotency 
on the part of the parents. Scurs appear more fre- 
quently in the Aberdeen Angus Polls than in the 
Galloways. This is doubtless owing to the less pro- 
longed period during which the former have been bred 
pure than the latter. Pure Yorkshire swine are very 
rarely "off" in their color markings. The same can- 
not be said of pure Berkshires. The former have been 
bred pure for a considerably longer period. Rever- 
sion is much less common in the Merinos than in the 
Oxford Downs, since the former is the more ancient 
breed, and thus it is with various other pure breeds 
that may be thus contrasted. These facts point to the 
conclusion, that sometime in the breeding of pure 
breds a place will be reached where the influence of 
atavic transmission would practically cease as far as 
relates to the original characters of the breed. That 
want of purity in breeding and duration in the same 
increases the tendency to reversion has already been 
touched upon in the preceding section. 

The more nearly balanced then, that breeds are, 
in antiquity of breeding, the more numerous will be 
the instances of atavic transmission when they are 
crossed, for then the resistance to fusion would be 
stronger than under different conditions. Under such 
circumstances it has been noticed that there is a tend- 
ency to reversion to the original traits of one breed or 
the other rather than to blending or fusion. The rea- 
sons cannot be satisfactorily given. With animals of 
a so-called pure breed of recent formation, the tend- 



THE LAW OF ATAVISM. 55 

encies to atavism will be strong in proportion to the 
recentness of the formation of the breed. This, at 
least, will be true of such breeds as are of composite 
blood, for then alien blood is present more or less, and 
it has been shown that the blood of cross-breds tends 
to increase the inclination to atavism. That the 
tendencies to atavism as to variation would increase as 
prepotency is weak, would seem to be reasonable, since 
prepotency from its very nature tends to produce 
resemblance to the parents rather than to their an- 
cestors, near or remote. 

Alternations in Atavic Transmission. — In some 
forms of atavic transmission there is a tendency to 
alternations of generation in the inheritance and more 
especially with reference to certain forms of disease. 
Such transmission may be more or less regular in its 
appearance, as, for instance, in every second or third 
generation, or it may be irregular, owing, in part, 
at least, to the presence or absence of exciting causes 
acting upon the rudiments of yet future diseases that 
have been transmitted. In many of the lower animals 
the alternation of generations is a fixed law of trans- 
mission. According to Miles, in a certain order of 
plant lice, the aphides, nine or ten generations of in- 
dividuals are produced in succession before those 
having sexual organs that are capable of producing 
eggs make their appearance. But alternations of this 
class vary in the number of generations which they 
cover in different orders. 

Reversion surrounded with Difficulties. — Be- 
cause of the alternations just referred to and also the 
apparent irregularities in transmission, the theory 
of reversion is surrounded with many difficulties. 
This irregularity may arise, in part, from the inherit- 



56 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

ance of two or more than two antagonistic characters, 
either one of which ma}' become dominant in the 
offspring. They may dominate in a regular or ir- 
regular alternation. That one or the other of these 
characters should dominate in what may be termed 
irregular alternation may be accounted for through 
the influence of natural causes, as, for instance, 
changed conditions, and to some extent they may be 
and doubtless are influenced by the character of the 
breeding. And yet these influences are so subtle in 
their action that, heretofore, they have baffled all at- 
tempts to explain them. This, at least, is true of 
many of them. But. the explanation just given does 
not sufficiently account for transmission in an alter- 
nation of generations whether the alternation be regu- 
lar or irregular. External influences of an even 
character should tend to produce uniformity in trans- 
mission. When the external evidences, therefore, are 
of this character, and yet there are alternations in 
transmission, such transmission certainly points to 
the conclusion that these belong as strictly to the 
organization through inheritance as any other part of 
the system. 

Reversion not Spontaneous Variation. — Indi- 
vidual instances of reversion cannot be referred to 
spontaneous variation. The difference between these 
has already been touched upon when defining atavism. 
It was there explained that atavism produced re- 
semblances to an ancestry more or less remote, where- 
as spontaneous variation produced dissimilarity to 
the ancestry whether near or remote. Spontaneous 
variations are extremely irregular and they are not 
only dissimilar to the ancestry, but also to one an- 
other. In individual instances of atavic transmission, 



THE LAW OF ATAVISM. 5< 

there is not only resemblance to the ancestry, but 
resemblances to one another are frequent in the in- 
stances of such transmission. There can be no effect 
without a cause. The more constant the effect, the 
more apparent is the cause. The constancy, there- 
fore, with which some pre-existing characters are 
transmitted proves the existence of definite physio- 
logical laws governing atavic transmission. The mis- 
take, however, must not be made that because spon- 
taneous variations are so extremely irregular they 
are not under the domain of law. But it must be 
acknowledged that extremely little is known in the 
meantime of the laws that control atavic transmission, 
whatever may be known of these in the future. 

Theorizing on Valuation. — Some have accounted 
for the phenomena of all variation, including rever- 
sion, on the hypothesis that the union of two different 
natures in reproduction may give a result essentially 
different from either. If this were true, there could 
be no assurance of constancy in the transmission of 
ancestral forms. The first great law of breeding 
could then be no longer looked upon as a law. It 
would be of no value to the breeder because of the 
extreme uncertainty of the character of the trans- 
mission. This hypothesis is not true even in instances 
of spontaneous variation that are quite pronounced 
in character. In such instances the variation belongs 
only to certain features of the animal. Take, for 
instance, Polled Durham cattle. One branch of the 
breed is purely Shorthorn. Through spontaneous 
variation foundation animals were secured that were 
hornless. Notwithstanding such variation, the Polled 
Durhams have all the characteristics of Shorthorns 
with the exception that the horns are absent. Such 



58 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

a hypothesis would imply the correctness of the theory 
that the elements of the organization may be again 
resolved into their original constituents. This would 
scarcely seem possible, for if it were so, accumulation 
in dominant properties could not be secured. The 
tendencies to reversion might then be as strong as 
those in the direction of transmitting like properties. 
Dominant and Latent Characters. — In the dis- 
cussion of the various forms of heredity it is neces- 
sary to distinguish between dominant and latent char- 
acters in heredity. The dominant characters include 
those that are prominent and obvious. For instance, 
the power to transmit fine and dense wool in the 
Merino sheep is a dominant character. It is known 
to be so, since it has been observed that they always 
transmit wool fine and dense. A century ago the 
Spanish Merino was narrow in body and flat in the 
rib. American breeders have sought to widen the 
body and round out the rib, and with considerable suc- 
cess, and yet not infrequently individuals appear 
with those characteristics as they were originally. 
The characters which reproduce them are latent. The 
presence of the dominant characters are known by the 
constant character of the transmission. The latent 
characters can only be shown to have existed by oc- 
casional transmission in the offspring. It may be true 
that all characters are transmitted as physiological 
units, some of which are dominant and others latent. 
This theory, if correct, would throw some light on 
the subject of heredity, but it would not throw any 
light on the causes of dominance in the various units 
of transmission. On much that relates to transmission 
the word mystery can be written, and it is the only 
word that will fitly apply at present, whatever the 
future may bring forth. 



THE LAW OF ATAVISM. 59 

An Assemblage of Characters not Inherited. — 
It is not probable that the offspring inherits an as- 
semblage of peculiarities representing the aggregate 
of parental characters. That it is so is shown in the 
inheritance of certain diseases. The morbid charac- 
teristics of one or the other parent are frequently 
either completely repeated or are altogether absent, 
and yet other prominent characteristics will be in- 
herited from the parent whose morbid characteristics 
were not transmitted. It is doubtless true, therefore, 
that dominant features in the offspring may be in- 
herited from both parents, while other features in 
each may not be inherited in any marked degree ex- 
cept in what may be termed the latent form. Hence 
it is, that the offspring may inherit the defects of one 
parent and the good qualities of the other. It also 
happens that a defect disappears for a number of 
generations and then suddenly appears. Theoretical- 
ly it has been bred out, but the fact of its reappear- 
ance sIioavs that it has been transmitted all the while 
but has in the interval been quiescent. 

Atavism not necessarily Antagonistic to Im- 
provement. — Atavism is usually looked upon as an- 
tagonistic to improvement in breeding, but good may 
come from it in some instances on the principle that 
good may result from what is in itself an evil. So- 
called improvement in breeding has not always been 
unmixed improvement. Poland China swine have 
been greatly improved as compared with their an- 
cestors in form and feeding qualities, but in very 
many instances at the sacrifice of stamina. When, 
therefore, atavic transmission relating to inheritance 
of this character appears it is. distinct gain. But it 
is only when improvement in some features has been 



60 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

accompanied by retrogression in others that any direct 
benefit can be gained from atavic transmission. 
When, however, breeders are led, ihrough the fear of 
atavic transmission, to discard the use of grade sires 
on their farms and to avoid cross-breeding in an aim- 
less and uncertain way, great good may result from 
the fact of its existence. It then becomes a rod, as 
it were, to whip the breeder into line who might other- 
wise be careless in his methods. 



CHAPTER VI. 

HEREDITY OF NORMAL, ABNORMAL, AND 
ACQUIRED CHARACTERS. 

All transmission is the outcome of natural law. 
But it has been shown that the laws which govern 
transmission are not equally apparent. For instance, 
the laws that control variation and reversion are more 
obscure in their action than the law that controls like- 
ness in transmission. The same things may be said 
of the heredity of normal, abnormal, and acquired 
characters. While all such heredity is under the con- 
trol of law the transmission of normal, abnormal, and 
acquired characters is by no means equally uniform 
or equally apparent. 

Definition of Heredity. — Heredity is the result 
of the operation of that law whereby characters and 
qualities of like kind with those of the parents and 
ancestors are transmitted to the offspring. It is an- 
other name for inheritance, and is so closely akin to 
transmission that the terms as applied to breeding 
may be considered synonymous and interchangeable. 
This transmission relates to structure, function, 
habit, and qualities, and, indeed, to every feature of 
the organization. Thus far it is on a par with trans 
mission which is the outcome of the law that like pro- 
duces like. But, unlike the former, it relates to all 
kinds of transmission as well as to the transmission 
of like qualities. The inheritance of spavin in a colt 
from one or both parents thus affected illustrates- 
heredity that relates to structure. The inheritance of 



62 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

high stepping and free knee action in the progeny of 
one or both parents thus characterized, illustrates 
heredity relating to function. The difficulty found in 
teaching a calf to drink milk when immediately de- 
scended from ancestry that have roamed on the range, 
as previously stated, as compared with a Holstein 
calf whose ancestry have been reared by hand for 
generations, illustrates heredity which relates to 
habit. And the superior handling qualities in an 
Aberdeen Angus Poll descended from parents that 
were thus furnished, as also previously stated, illus- 
trates the heredity of a quality, that is to say, the 
quality of good handling. The supposed exceptions to 
heredity are doubtless the result of the predominant 
influence for the time being of other laws acting in 
opposition to the hereditary tendency. Heredity may 
be -characterized as normal, abnormal, and acquired. 
These will be considered separately. 

Heredity that is Normal. — By the heredity of 
normal characters is meant the inheritance or trans- 
mission of characters natural to the type. These char- 
acters are of two classes. They have been original 
traits bestowed upon the species, or they may have 
been acquired, and rendered permanent by continued 
transmission. To the former class may be referred 
the readiness with which the horse obeys, the teacha- 
bleness of the dog, the natural timidity of the sheep, 
the thirst of the tiger for blood, the readiness with 
which swine seek the wallow in time of heat, and the 
eagerness of the collie dog to assist in driving the 
flock without harming it. It is not always possible to 
distinguish between heredity that is normal to the 
type and heredity that is acquired. For instance, 
the habit of milk giving in the cow is normal, but the 



HEREDITY OF CHARACTERS. 63 

habit of abundant milk giving is acquired. That 
which is acquired may in |ime come to be looked upon 
as normal when it becomes so engrafted on the species 
as to be transmitted with as much regularity as char- 
acters that were original traits. 

Illustrations of Normal Heredity. — Illustra- 
tions of the persistent and uniform action of the law 
of heredity of normal characters may be readily 
drawn from the different departments of organic life. 
In geological formations covering immense periods of 
time, fossil species and generic forms present the same 
essential characters throughout the entire range. The 
ox, for instance, has the essential features of anatom- 
ical structure in his organization in the skeletons 
found in the earliest geological formations, as he pos- 
sesses to-day. The lapse of time represented in the 
historic period has made no appreciable change in 
the characters of wild animals. The lion is neither 
more nor less fierce to-day than in the days when he 
was hunted by Ximrod. The wild hare is no less 
timid than it was long centuries ago. The elephant 
of to-day is characterized by his enormous size as he 
was in the days when he trod down the enemy in battle 
while Alexander the Great was conquering Persia. 
The wild goat loves to graze upon the mountains as in 
the days before the flood. And the eagle builds its 
eyrie in the cleft of the rock as it did in the days when 
the earth was green and young. The animals that 
have been preserved in the monuments of Egypt from 
a remote antiquity are essentially the same as those 
now found on the banks of the Xile. In these various 
illustrations is evidenced the constancy and persist- 
ency with which original traits are transmitted when 
nature is not interfered with in her processes. It 



64 ANIMAL BREEDING, 

would, therefore, be correct to assume, that nature 
unaided has not perform^ any important part in 
the evolution of breeds. It is only, or at least chiefly, 
when the guiding hand of man has come to the aid 
of nature that evolution has become at all permanent. 
Heredity of Individual Peculiarities. — The he- 
redity of normal characters is by no means confined 
to those that belong to the species as such. It extends 
as well to individual peculiarities. Illustrations of 
such transmission are found, first, in the families of 
athletes and giants. In the Old Testament Scriptures 
families of giants are referred to and in a way which 
points to the conclusion that such extraordinary phys- 
ical development was the outcome of inheritance. In 
ancient Greece were families of athletes noted as such 
from generation to generation. Second, in the very 
large number of running horses descended from Her- 
od and Eclipse and of trotting horses descended from 
Messenger. The winners in the individual progeny 
of these horses aggregate a large number. Third, in 
the remarkable development of the musical talent 
found in certain families for successive generations. 
As Miles has stated, many of the descendants of Se- 
bastian Bach, who lived in the sixteenth century, were 
organists and church singers in Thuringia, Saxony, 
and Franconia. For nearly two centuries subsequent- 
ly to his death they furnished many musicians of 
great eminence. Fourth, in the longevity of certain 
families even though the conditions are unfavorable 
to such longevity. To so great an extent is longevity 
in families taken as the estimate of the duration of 
life, that insurance agents lay much stress upon it 
when issuing policies. Fifth, in the fecundity or 
sterility of certain families. This is witnessed in 



HEREDITY OF CHARACTERS. 



65 




H-2S 
w£ta 

H-Bte 
*§« 

o • 
fee* 






66 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

the human race and also in domestic animals, and 
these distinctions are noticeable where the conditions 
of life are very similar. And sixth, in the inheritance 
of mental and moral traits. Some families are noted 
as being quarrelsome from generation to generation, 
others are pre-eminently distinguished by their gen- 
erosity, and yet again others are noted for the long 
line of individuals who have devoted their lives to 
the Christian ministry. 

Heredity that is Abnormal. — The heredity of 
abnormal characters means the inheritance of charac- 
ters which have deviated from the natural and ac- 
quired characteristics of the type. It would, perhaps, 
be correct to say that all disease is abnormal, and 
that the discussion of the same should be included in 
the discussion of abnormal characters. But there are 
some points of difference between disease and other 
abnormal characters. While all disease is in a sense 
abnormal, characters that are usually spoken of as 
abnormal do not necessarily constitute disease. For 
instance, there may be malformation of structure, as 
an excess in the number of the fingers, or derangement 
of function, as deafness, found in persons who have 
excellent health. There is more of obscurity sur- 
rounding abnormal characters which do not consti- 
tute disease than in those which do constitute the 
same. It has, therefore, been deemed advisable to 
discuss the two separately. Abnormal characters 
which do not constitute disease may appear as mal- 
formations of structure or derangement of function. 
When they constitute disease they assume many forms 
of the same as will be shown in Chapter VII., which 
treats of the heredity of diseases. 

Heredity of Malformations in Structure. — The 



HEREDITY OF CHARACTERS. 67 

heredity of malformations in structure may be illus- 
trated as follows: 1. Certain families have been 
found with an excess or with a deficiency in the num- 
ber of fingers and toes or of joints in the same, and 
these have been inherited with more or less of regu- 
larity for generations. Females in the human family 
have been able to give nurse to their children from 
more than two nipples, and some of these have been 
irregularly placed. 2. Dorking and Houdan fowls 
have a fifth toe, which is, of course, supernumerary. 
The Houdans especially were not always character- 
ized by this peculiarity, though now it is a constant 
characteristic of the breed, and in the Dorkings the 
tendency is strong to further variation in the pro- 
duction of toes. 3. The Niata breed of cattle graz- 
ed by the river Plata. As described by Darwin in 
"Animals and Plants under Domestication," they had 
a peculiar malformation of the skull, by which its 
nasal end was curved upward. The lower jaw pro- 
jected beyond the upper, and had also a correspond- 
ing upward curvature. It is reasonable to suppose 
that this deformity is the outcome of inheritance in 
malformation. 4. A family of one eared rabbits has 
been originated, as described by Dr. Anderson in 
"Recreations in Agriculture," by breeding together a 
closely related pair in which the abnormal character 
had appeared. Illustrations of this feature of ab- 
normal transmission could be multiplied indefinitely. 
Heredity of the Derangement of Function. — 
Illustrations of the derangement of function may be 
found in the tendency of some families to use the left 
hand. This tendency has frequently been transmitted 
from generation to generation. The tribe of Benja- 
min was noted for its left-handed slingers. These 



68 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

appear to have been so numerous that they constituted 
the rule rather than the exception. The narrative 
would seem to show, at least, that the most famous 
of the slingers in the tribe were left handed. Further 
illustration of the same is found in the inheritance 
of deafness, dumbness, and impaired vision. These 
are frequently transmitted from generation to genera- 
tion though not by any means in an unbroken line of 
transmission. The inheritance may be direct and ob- 
vious in some members of a family, but not so obvious 
in others, and yet it may reappear in the children or 
in the descendants of the latter. 

Abnormal Characters not Uniformly Inherited, 
— Abnormal characters are not so likely to be per- 
petuated through transmission as original traits or 
acquired habits in harmony with the original pecul- 
iarities of the animal. If a record were kept of all 
the instances of inheritance of abnormal qualities in 
the offspring thus affected, it would be found that as 
a rule the number of the progeny not inheriting such 
qualities would considerably exceed that of the prog- 
eny in which such inheritance appeared. But this re- 
sult may arise in part from the fact that parents 
possessing abnormal peculiarities are usually mated 
with those who do not possess them. Normal inherit- 
ance from the latter would tend to counteract ab- 
normal inheritance from the former. But, some- 
times, there is an increase in the development of an 
abnormal character. Such would appear to be true of 
Houdan fowls, which, according to Wright in his work 
on poultry, very rarely showed the fifth toe when first 
introduced into England, while now the absence of the 
fifth toe is exceptional. Why the tendency to trans- 
mit abnormal characters should be so much stronger 



HEREDITY OF CHARACTERS. 69 

in some instances than in others cannot be fully ac- 
counted for in the present state of our knowledge. 

Abnormal Transmission not always Apparent. — 
It is not by any means certain that the abnormal pe- 
culiarities of parents have not been transmitted to the 
offspring when they are not discernible. Sometimes 
such transmission is not apparent for at least a limit- 
ed number of generations, when suddenly it reappears 
with more or less of completeness. The fact of such 
reappearance as with ordinary atavic transmission 
proves that the tendency to these abnormal characters 
has been transmitted all the while. Their obscurity 
in the meantime has been the result of the presence of 
some more dominant character or characters. Their 
non-inheritance can only be fully determined by an 
exhaustive examination of all the individuals in the 
direct and collateral lines of descent, and for a period 
that will cover several generations. 

Functional Derangement not Always Follow- 
ed by Structural Changes. — The transmission of 
functional peculiarities does not always involve the 
transmission of some corresponding structural change. 
Functional derangements from an injured nervous 
system have frequently been transmitted without mal- 
formation of the nerves. Nor does the inheritance 
of the use of the left hand involve any structural 
change. In a majority of instances it would be cor- 
rect to say that such transmission is accompanied by 
structural changes. For instance, the inheritance of 
diminished capacity for milk production, as when 
the inheritance comes from the male, is accompanied 
by less capacity in the development of the udder, and 
by an ndder less glandular in character. It should 
also be remembered that in-and-in breeding tends to 



70 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

intensify all forms of abnormal inheritance. It 
should, therefore, be most sedulously avoided when 
the aim is to breed out abnormal characters that may 
have appeared. 

The Heredity of Acquired Characters. — By the 
heredity of acquired characters is meant the inherit- 
ance of characters engrafted upon those original traits 
peculiar to the type. They differ from normal char- 
acters in not having originally belonged to the type, 
and they differ from abnormal characters in their 
being in harmony with the original constitution of 
the race, which the latter are not. They may be 
produced by such influences as food, environment, 
education, and training. The much greater size of 
the American Merino as compared with the Spanish 
Merino is an acquired character produced by good 
food aided by good care. The relatively large de- 
velopment of the forequarters of the sheep reared 
on mountains is an acquired character produced by 
environment. The readiness with which domestic 
animals submit to human direction as compared with 
wild animals of the same species is a character ac- 
quired through education. And the tendency in the 
collie dog, as previously intimated, to drive at the 
heels rather than at the head is a character acquired 
through generations of training. These characters 
may be more quickly secured and intensified by the 
aid of in-and-in breeding than in its absence. Espe- 
cially is this true when they are in the formative 
stage. 

Heredity of Acquired Characters Illustrated. — 
Illustrations of the inheritance of acquired characters 
are numerous : 1 . It is seen in the sagacity and 
fidelity of the collie dog and in the striking peculiar- 



HEREDITY OF CHARACTERS. 71 

ities of other breeds of dogs. The wisdom of the 
collie dog' is such that it would almost seem to be 
guided by reason. The readiness with which the 
Newfoundland dog takes to the water is simply 
wonderful. So, too, is the service rendered by the 
St. Bernard dogs of the Swiss Alps, and by the point- 
er and the setter. These distinguishing traits are all 
acquired. 2. It is seen in the tendency of beef breeds 
to lay on fat and of the dairy breeds to secrete an 
abundant supply of milk and for a long period. The 
marked differences which in these respects charac- 
terize breeds did not always characterize them. They 
have been first acquired and then intensified. 3. It is 
seen in the speed of the American trotting horses, in 
the ambling pace of those of the Cordilleras, and in 
the readiness with which Norwegian ponies obey the 
human voice. These characters have been developed 
through long years of training, until they have come 
to be transmitted with much regularity. 4. And it is 
seen in the disposition to wariness which has come to 
characterize various races of Avild animals, which at 
one time manifested no uneasiness because of man's 
presence. Birds, and also quadrupeds, inhabiting va- 
rious islands when these Avere first discovered, mani- 
fested no fear of man, but their descendants now 
flee at his approach. 

Acquired Characters and Original Traits Con- 
flicting Elements. — From what has been said it will 
be apparent that acquired characters and original 
traits are conflicting' elements, either one of which, 
from its intensity, may predominate in hereditary 
transmission. The former are less certain to appear 
for a time in heredity, but eventually they may be 
looked for with as much certainty as the original 



72 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

traits. In many instances they supplant the former. 
Such was the case with the wild birds just referred to 
in which the absence of fear because of man's presence 
was succeeded by great fear because of the same. 
From a practical point of view, therefore, the en- 
grafting of acquired characters is without any limit. 

The fact is not to be lost sight of, however, that 
the characters thus engrafted must be in harmony 
with the original constitution of the race. The dog 
is naturally teachable, hence, with the dog the en- 
grafting of an acquired character is not usually dif- 
ficult. Swine are not nearly so teachable by nature. 
Generations of careful training would doubtless im- 
prove them in this respect, but would never make 
them so susceptible to training as the dog. 

It is not difficult to so modify physical charac- 
ters in animals that were of primal bestowment, that 
in turn they become acquired characters. The strong 
tail head possessed by many of the old time Galloways 
is much less pronounced in the Galloways of to-day. 
The reduced size of the tail head has, therefore, be- 
come an acquired physical character of the breed. 
But it is difficult to entirely eliminate an organ of 
primal bestowment, as, for instance, the removal of 
horns or tail in domestic animals without the help 
of spontaneous variation. During past centuries it 
has been customary with some, at least, of the English 
breeds of sheep, to remove the tail at an early age, 
with the exception of from one to two inches nearest 
the root of the same, and yet when lambs of these 
breeds are born, the tails are as long, apparently, as 
they ever were. The change would probably be made 
much more quickly by constantly selecting animals 
for breeding possessed of the shortest tails. It would, 



HEREDITY OF CHARACTERS. 73 

therefore, require many generations of breeding be- 
fore dehorning alone would produce hornless animals, 
if, indeed, that alone would ever produce such a 
result. 



CHAPTEE VII. 

HEREDITY OF DISEASES. 

That certain forms of diseases are transmissible 
does not for one moment admit of question. That 
all forms of disease are transmissible is not true. 
It is equally certain that in many instances disease 
may be present, or the predisposing influences that 
lead thereto, in a form so subtle as to escape notice, 
and that when thus present it may be transmitted di- 
rectly, or the tendency to it only may be transmitted, 
requiring only certain conditions to develop into the 
active form. This question, then, is one of great 
practical moment to the breeder of live stock and 
should receive at his hands the most care_ul considera- 
tion. 

Heredity of Disease Defined. — By the heredity 
of diseases is meant the transmission to the progeny 
of certain abnormal conditions of the system which 
characterized the parents. It has already been shown 
in Chapter VI. that all abnormal conditions do not 
constitute disease, and that while all disease is ab- 
normal, all that is abnormal is not disease. It should 
also be remembered that only certain kinds of disease 
are transmissible. While it may not be easy in all 
instances to distinguish between diseases that are 
transmissible and those that are not, it would be cor- 
rect to say that all diseases of that class known as 
constitutional are transmissible. Those of a tuber- 
culous character are by far the most numerous. Many 



HEREDITY OF DISEASES. 75 

contagious and infections diseases are not only not 
transmissible, but their Laving been once borne by the 
individual would, in some instances, appear to render 
the progeny less susceptible to the disease. Such it 
has been claimed is true of hog cholera, although au- 
thorities are not agreed as to this question. 

Heredity of Diseases Structural and Functional. 
— As with the heredity of abnormal characters which 
do not constitute diseases, such inheritance may relate 
to a modification of structure or to a derangement of 
function. When such heredity relates to the modi- 
fication of structure it is seldom or never questioned, 
since the evidences of its presence are so apparent to 
the eye, but when it relates to derangement of func- 
tion, it is more liable to be overlooked. For instance, 
when ringbone has been present in one or both parents 
and again appears in the offspring, the inheritance of 
ringbone by the latter from the former is not ques- 
tioned, since the evidences of it are so apparent to 
the eye. But suppose that the udder of a dam is 
tuberculous, the presence of the same, for a time at 
least, may not be patent to the eye. Should the cow 
so affected beget progeny it will inherit the tendency 
to tuberculosis, and should she suckle the same, the 
progeny will be almost certain to contract tuberculosis 
from the dam. Xow suppose such inheritance is ex- 
actly similar in kind, function in the udder of the 
progeny will be deranged, and yet it may not be 
possible to be absolutely assured of such derangement, 
at least for a time, save through the process of a post- 
mortem on the cow, and even then the functional de- 
rangement would be accompanied by structural de- 
rangement. It would seem to be true, therefore, that 
all inherited disease is accompanied by structural 



76 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

modification or derangement and that this may be 
so even when only the indications pointing to disease 
are present. It would also seem to be true that any 
peculiarity of the functional activity of an organ if 
long continued, is likely to result in a habit of the 
system which will be inherited by the offspring*. 

Hereditary Disease Congenital or of Latent 
Transmission. — Hereditary disease is either con- 
genital or there is a predisposition to it. It is con- 
genital when it is apparent at birth. A brood mare 
may have certain joints greatly enlarged. If, in her 
offspring, the same is apparent at birth, it illustrates 
congenital transmission. The same is true of goitre 
in lambs when it is present at birth. Of course it 
makes no difference how the disease came to be trans- 
mitted, whether through the immediate ancestors or 
those more remote, it is congenital when the indica- 
tions of it are present at birth. The predisposition 
to disease is inherited when the tendency only is 
transmitted, but does not actually constitute disease 
until some exciting cause develops it at a later period. 

The tendency to tuberculosis may be transmitted. 
This tendency for a time may be latent. The health- 
giving influences surrounding the animal may be 
such that for a time no evidence of tuberculosis is 
apparent. Later, however, the surroundings become 
unfavorable, and the disease appears. Again, it may 
hot appear until the next generation or even for a 
longer period, but finally develops. In such instances 
the conclusion is fair, that the predisposition to the 
disease was transmitted all the while. It is evident, 
therefore, that there is always more or less of hazard 
in breeding from animals that are tainted with dis- 
ease, though to the eye they may seem to be in per- 



HEREDITY OF DISEASES. 77 

feet health. The tuberculin test may single out ani- 
mals that are affected with tuberculosis. It may be 
that to the eye they are in perfect vigor. Possibly 
they are pure bred and rich in blood lines of famous 
ancestral descent. While the owner consents to quar- 
antine them he continues to rear progeny from them. 
In such instances the fact should not be lost sight of, 
that the predisposition to tuberculosis has probably 
been transmitted. There is the possibility, however, 
that through wise management the predisposition 
thus transmitted may eventually be eliminated. On 
the other hand the predisposition to certain forms 
of disease may become hereditary. The cattle beast 
with a narrow chest falls an easy prey to the influ- 
ences which produce tuberculosis. Breeding such 
animals in direct descent for generations ensures the 
heredity of a predisposition to tuberculous diseases. 
Diseases that are Hereditary. — While various 
forms of disease are transmissible, those of a tuber- 
culous "character are peculiarly so. To so great an 
extent is this true, that a close examination of the 
question would probably show that the instances of 
transmission of diseases, tuberculous in character, 
would probably outnumber those of the transmission 
of all other forms of disease combined. And this 
is true of domestic animals to a greater extent than 
it is true of the human family. Tuberculous diseases 
are characterized by the formation of tubercles in 
various organs of the body and by a perversion of 
the nutritive functions. These tubercles are by no 
means uniform in their location, even with the same 
form of disease. For instance, in tuberculosis, the 
tubercles may be found in one instance in the lungs, 
in another in the bowels, and in a third instance, in 



78 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

the udder of females. In aggravated cases all these 
organs and indeed various other organs are affected. 
The most common forms of tuberculosis include con- 
sumption, diarrhoea, dysentery, mesenteric disease, 
hydrocephalus and glandular swellings. 

Tuberculous Diseases Frequent Among Domes- 
tic Animals. — Tuberculous diseases are frequent but 
not equally so among horses, cattle, sheep, and swine. 
Cattle are much more likely to be affected with such 
ailments than horses, sheep, and possibly swine. 
Horses are more frequently affected than sheep, and 
the trouble in horses is much prone to assume the form 
of swollen and otherwise diseased joints and limbs. 
Tuberculosis may not have actually developed, and 
yet there may be a predisposition to it, the indications 
of which are manifest. 

These indications are various. They include 
the following, viz. : 1. A thin carcass and lacking in 
depth, a narrow chest and loin, flat ribs, large barrel 
depression and hollow flanks. 2. Extreme thinness 
and fineness of the head, neck, and withers, want of 
fullness in the eyes, hollowness behind the ears, un- 
due fullness under the jaws, and a small and narrow 
muzzle. 3. Much prominence of the bones in certain 
parts as at the joints, and a coarse and ungainly ap- 
pearance. And 4, a hard, unyielding skin, thin and 
dry hair, and irregularity in changing the coat. A 
thin carcass, of course, means one lacking in width 
throughout its entire length. Narrowness of chest, 
flatness of rib and smallness of muzzle are all asso- 
ciated with circumscribed respirajion and a low vi- 
tality. Want of width and depth in body are asso- 
ciated with a lack of digestive capacity. The low 
vitality and the lack of digestive capacity account for 



HEREDITY OF DISEASES. 79 

the lack of fullness in the eye, behind the ear and in 
the Hanks. They are the outcome of a weak nutrition. 
which in turn is the outcome of the causes named. 
The undue length of the limbs in such instances is 
probably a result of the law of correlation discussed 
in Chapter VIII. The undue prominence of the 
joints arises from a perverted nutrition. The harsh, 
unyielding skin, and the characteristics of coat men- 
tioned are the outcome of a feeble circulation which 
in turn grows out of a feeble digestion. Animals thus 
formed fall an easy prey to tuberculous diseases, 
hence, to breed from them would be very unwise. 

Variations in the Inheritance of Diseases. — The 
inheritance of the so-called constitutional diseases 
varies in many instances in the organs affected. In 
these there are sometimes alternations in the trans- 
mission, that is to say, the parents may have diseased 
lungs, and the transmission in the next generation 
will manifest itself in the form of tumors or glandular 
swellings, while in the following generation it may 
again assume the form of lung disease in one or the 
other of its forms. But it is also true that the loca- 
tion of the disease may depend in many instances on 
the method of infection, that is to say, whether 
through the digestive organs or through the lungs. 
The conditions to which the animals are subjected 
may, in part, account for such alternations in trans- 
mission, but they do not furnish the explanation of 
all the instances of such variable transmission. The 
injudicious treatment of animals predisposed to such 
diseases may also aid in determining the particular 
organ that will be affected. For instance, the injudi- 
cious use of a violent cathartic may locate the in- 
herited tendency to chronic diarrhoea. 



80 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

Cause of Tuberculosis. — Tuberculosis is one of 
the most common forms in which disease appears in 
domestic animals. Because of the extent to which it 
prevails, especially among cattle, it has been thought 
that greater loss arises from this source than from 
all the other forms of disease combined. It should, 
therefore, not be out of place to give some special con- 
sideration to this question. The direct cause of tuber- 
culosis is a rod-like microscopic parasite which may, 
in various ways, be transferred from one animal to 
another. In the congenital form the disease changes 
may be in process of development or they may be 
developed. The germs may be conveyed in the moth- 
er's milk or in the nasal or bowel discharges. They 
may also be inhaled in the atmosphere of surround- 
ings where tuberculous cattle have recently been kept. 
There is no way, however, in which the contagion 
will more certainly be conveyed than in the milk of 
the dams whose udders are tuberculous. It does not 
happen with much frequency that the disease is trans- 
mitted in the congenital form, but the predisposition 
to it is probably invariably transmitted by tuberculous 
parents. 

Predisposing Causes of Tuberculosis. — There 
are several predisposing causes of tuberculosis aside 
from inheritance. These include disorder of the 
digestive organs, food deficient in quantity and qual- 
ity, impure water, confinement in dark, damp, filthy, 
un ventilated apartments, and undue exposure to cold 
or to any other influence that lowers the action of the 
vital powers. The extent to which cattle have been 
confined in damp, dark, and ill-ventilated stables is 
perhaps responsible for the great extent to which 
tuberculosis prevails more than any other single ex- 



HEREDITY OF DISEASES. 



81 



r 







82 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

ternal cause. Cattle reared on the ranges are but 
little subject to tuberculosis, notwithstanding that 
in many instances they are frequently subjected to 
privation because of short supplies of food. This 
fact should be carefully considered by those who re- 
quire to keep cattle housed much of the time in 
winter. It emphasizes the necessity for supplying 
them with ample fresh air in the stables and also with 
sufficient exercise. 

Continued in-and-in breeding, or even protracted 
close breeding and breeding from immature or en- 
feebled parents are also responsible for much of the 
tuberculosis that prevails. Of this fact there is evi- 
dence in the greater extent to which tuberculosis has 
prevailed in the families of Shorthorns and Jerseys 
that have been thus bred, than in other families of 
these respective breeds. It is also evidenced in the 
less extent to which the disease prevails in semi- 
mountain breeds, as the West Highland, which have 
been subjected to less artificial conditions than the 
breeds just named. But the conclusion must not be 
reached that artificial conditions of necessity conduce 
to the increase of tuberculosis. It is only when these 
conditions are made such as to lower the vitality of 
the animals that they foster tuberculosis. Of course, 
when the predisposition to tuberculosis is inherited, 
the conditions named become intensified in their ac- 
tion. Similarly, when the predisposition to any form 
of disease is inherited, the action of the exciting 
causes becomes intensified. 

Inherited Predisposition to Disease from One or 
Both Parents. — The inherited predisposition to dis- 
ease may be derived from either parent or from both. 
When such predispositioii is derived from both par- 



HEBEDITY OF DISEASES. 83 

ents it becomes intensified. It would follow, there- 
fore, that the hazard of transmitting the predisposi- 
tion to tuberculosis in the progeny will be greatly 
increased when both parents are thus, affected. To 
lessen this danger herds should certainly be, at least 
occasionally, subjected to the tuberculin test as other- 
wise there can be no certain assurance that such a 
mistake will not be made. There are some instances 
in which the limitation of disease is confined to one 
sex and transmitted by the other, as, for instance, 
when the inheritance of skin diseases is manifest in 
the male descendants only, although the females trans- 
mit the same with more or less of regularity to their 
male progeny. Many instances of such transmission 
have been noted in the human family. Such transmis- 
sion also occurs with more or less frequency among 
domestic animals, although with them it has probably 
been les< noticed. This would seem to be akin to 
similar .transmission of abnormal qualities already 
noticed. 

Suspension in the Transmission of Disease. — In 
the transmission of hereditary disease there may be 
suspension for a time as well as alternation, that is 
to say, the disease may not be transmitted for a time 
and may again reappear. The suspension may con- 
tinue for several generations. This may be due to 
the absence of exciting causes, or it may be owing to 
favorable sanitary conditions, followed by those less 
sanitary or indeed of an entirely opposite character. 
Such transmission is atavic in its nature, and is 
probably subject" to the same laws that control atavic 
transmission. It is also true that alternations of de- 
velopment are frequent in the transmission of heredi- 
tary diseases. So frequent are those alternations that 



84 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

such transmission would, in many instances, seem to 
be the rule rather than the exception. 

These alternations in transmission, especially 
in the human. family, may relate, first, to alternation 
in generations, and second, to alternation in the in- 
dividuals affected in the same family. For instance, 
certain diseases will sometimes be entirely absent 
in the first generation, but will reappear in the second. 
They will be absent in the third generation and re- 
appear in the fourth. Again, in individual families, 
the first born uray be free from the taint, and the 
second may inherit it, the third is free and the fourth 
affected, and thus the transmission descends through 
the entire family. And yet again, the alternation 
may relate to sex, that is to say, the inherited dis- 
ease will manifest itself only in one sex. In still 
other instances, the disease will be confined to one sex 
and transmitted only by or through the other, as 
previously pointed out. . These alternations in trans- 
mission would appear to be under the control of in- 
fluences which, though not understood, are regular 
in their action. They would seem to be the outcome 
of two antagonistic characters which alternate in 
dominating power, but why they should act thus is 
yet a veiled secret. 

Disease may be Transmitted Potentially. — Dis- 
ease still future in the parent or the tendencies to it, 
though undeveloped, may be transmitted potentially 
to the offspring. Such instances are of frequent oc- 
currence in the transmission of cancers. The tend- 
ency to these in the human family is probably trans- 
mitted in all instances before the disease has appeared 
in the parent. Nor does it follow that the tendency 
to disease in the parent thus transmitted potentially 



HEREDITY OF DISEASES. 85 

to the offspring Avill ever become operative, that is, 
it may never develop into actual disease in the parent. 
In breeding horses instances of such transmission are 
not infrequent. Parents notorious for the develop- 
ment of swollen limbs, or ringbones in some instances 
beget progeny in which these ailments do not appear 
until subsequently to the birth of the latter, and in 
some instances they do not appear at all. Such trans- 
mission is somewhat akin to transmission character- 
ized by suspension, nevertheless they are not the 
same. The strength of the predisposing conditions 
acting in conjunction with other conditions, particu- 
larly those of an external character, have an all pow- 
erful influence in determining the exact character of 
the heredity. 

Predisposition to Disease through Faulty Con- 
formation. — Animals free from constitutional taint 
transmit indirectly to their offspring a predisposition 
to certain forms of disease through the faulty con- 
formation of certain physical features of develop- 
ment. 1, A disproportion in the width and strength 
of the leg above the hock to the width and strength 
of the same below this part in the parent horse, pre- 
disposes to spavin in the offspring. And this predis- 
position may lead to the development of the disease 
even when spavin or the tendency to it has not been 
transmitted directly from the parents. 2, In draft 
horses round limbs containing an unusual proportion 
of cellular tissue predispose the offspring to such dis- 
eases as weed and grease. 3, Chests that are narrow, 
pasterns that are' upright and toes that are turned out 
beyond a certain limit, beget a tendency in the off- 
spring to bone diseases of the foot, as, for instance, 
ringbone. Such instances could easily be multiplied. 



86 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

The same principle has been referred to when treat- 
ing above of the indications of tuberculosis. Because 
of such danger, every care should be taken when 
selecting breeding animals to avoid selecting those 
that are thus constituted. In the choice of these, as 
much importance should be placed upon freedom 
from the taint of inherited disease as upon the absence 
of the various features that indicate inferior physical 
development. 



CHAPTEK VIII. 

THE LAW OF CORRELATION. 

Three principal laws have been given in previ- 
ous chapters which govern the breeding of domestic 
animals. These are the law that like produces like, 
the law of variation, and the law of atavism. In ad- 
dition to these there is another law, viz. : the law of 
correlation. This law, however, is more of what 
may be termed an inherent feature of the organization 
than of modification in the same and yet it would not 
be correct to say that it is not susceptible of modifica- 
tion. The relation of the different parts of the organ- 
ization in virtue of this law may be much modified 
but this relation can never be entirely obliterated. 

Definition of Correlation. — Correlation in its 
relation to animal life means that correspondence or 
relation which exists as to form and function between 
the different organs of the body. In virtue of this re- 
lation certain peculiarities of structure will obtain 
between those organs which belong inherently to the 
species. It may be said to form a dividing line be- 
tween the species. In fact, without it the classifica- 
tion of animal life would be impossible. Because of 
this law there must be a certain relation in kind be- 
tween the teeth of the cat and the claws of the cat and 
between form in an animal and the breeding qualities 
of the same animal. As intimated previously, these 
relations may be greatly modified but never entirely 
suppressed. 



88 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

The Law of Correlation Defined. — The law of 
correlation means that interdependent principle of 
development and suppression that seems to obtain 
between the different organs of the body and the va- 
rious functions of the same. By the operation of this 
law a change in one organ or set of organs is followed 
by a corresponding change in another organ or set 
of organs, in some part of the body. For instance, in 
wild cattle there is a certain relation between the 
parts of the individual animal in virtue of the species 
to which it belongs, that is to say, because the form 
and action of the jaw are of such a kind, the form of 
the digestive organs and the nature of the digestion 
are of such a kind. This relation always obtains 
without great modification. There will also be a 
certain relation between development in the fore and 
hind parts of the animal respectively. When they 
must needs graze on rugged pastures and among en- 
emies, development will be large and strong in the 
muscles of the front limbs. They have both to climb 
and run. Subject the same class of animals for gen- 
erations to level pastures and domestic or semi-domes- 
tic conditions, and these relations will change. The 
muscles that help to control locomotion in the front 
part of the body will grow less relatively, and those 
tli at govern locomotion in the hind parts of the same 
will increase. And the modification of the parts is 
always or nearly always of an opposite character. 

If there is increase in one part of the animal 
there will be decrease in some other part of the same, 
and the change is usually proportionate in degree to 
the change made in the co-related organ or set of 
organs. In some instances the corresponding change 
is dependent on a change in structure, in others on a 



THE LAW OF CORRELATION. 89 

change in function, and is of like kind, that is to say, 
a change in structure is dependent on a change in 
structure, and a change in function on a change in 
function, and in vet other instances the change, 
whether of structure or function, may, to some extent, 
be dependent on changes in both structure and func- 
tion. 

The Anatomist and Correlated Structure. — Cor- 
related structure in an animal enables the anatomist 
to determine from a single bone: 1, The class and 
order to which it belongs ; 2, its habits and modes 
of life ; and 3, the food required for its support. For 
instance, the jaw bone of the skeleton of an ox with 
the teeth in it, tells the anatomist that the living 
animal chewed the cud and that, therefore, it belonged 
to the order of cloven hoofed mammals. Since it 
chewed the cud its natural food was coarse herbage. 
Because its natural food was coarse herbage it had 
the grazing or browsing habit or both, and since it was 
a mammal it suckled its young. These are only a few 
of the conclusions that could be reached regarding the 
animal and its kind from the jaw bone mentioned and 
its bony belongings. How easily then could the 
skilled anatomist construct a perfect skeleton of an 
animal that no man had ever seen alive, from a con- 
fused mass of skeleton materials which contained in 
it all the parts of the bony framework of such an 
animal. 

Correlation with Reference to Structure. — Illus- 
trations of the law of correlation with reference to 
structure are numerous. 1. They may be found in 
the highly organized carnivora, in whom, as Cuvier 
has said, the form of the teeth has an intimate corre- 
spondence to that of the condyle, blade bone, femur, 



90 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

and claws. In the lion, for instance, there are teeth 
to lacerate and hold. There are also teeth to cut> 
which play npon each other like scissor blades. This 
calls for great strength of jaw and a cutting motion 
up and down. Both are made possible by the form 
of the condyle, of the teeth and jaws and of the strong 
muscles attached to the jaws. The blade bone is pow- 
erful and so muscled as to give great strength. The 
femur is so formed with the muscles attached to it as 
to admit of crouching when lying in wait for prey, 
and the claws are of a character to enable the animal 
to grasp its prey and to lacerate it almost at will. 2. 
In the structure of ruminants, in which there is an in- 
timate relation between hoof and horn development, 
and also between the form of the teeth, the articula- 
tion of the jaw and the complex character of the di- 
gestive organs. Ruminant animals have all the cloven 
hoof and they all have horns that grow out from the 
frontal bone. Moreover the number of the horns 
corresponds to the number of the divisions in the hoof. 
In ruminants the teeth are made to grind. The 
joints of the jaw bones and the muscles of the 
jaws provide for the lateral or grinding move- 
ment of the latter, and the digestion in its com- 
plexity provides for the grinding of the food in chew- 
ing the cud. when the animal is otherwise at- rest. 3. 
In the development of the brain in men and reptiles 
respectively and of the bones which surround these. 
In the former the brain cavity is large and the bones 
encircling it are relatively light, whereas in the latter 
the opposite conformation exists. And 4, They are 
further found in the development of the fore and hind 
parts respectively of the bat and kangaroo. In the 
bat the anterior members are widely extended and 



THE LAW OF CORRELATION. 91 

the posterior but slightly, so as to facilitate rising 
easily. In the kangaroo there is much development in 
the posterior members and relatively little in the an- 
terior, so as to facilitate the taking of long leaps 5. 
In the comparative unproductiveness of the male 
sebright-bantams without sickle feathers and of rump- 
less fowls. And 6, in the effect of castration upon 
other organs of the body, as witnessed in the decreas- 
ed development of the muscles of the neck which it 
produces and the loss of fighting spirit which results 
from it. The two illustrations last given also bear 
somewhat on the relation which structure has to func- 
tion. 

Correlation with Reference to Function. — Illus- 
trations of the law of correlation with reference to 
function are found : 1. In the influence of extreme 
development of the beef form on milk production, and 
vice versa. Experience in growing beef cattle has 
shown -that when the beef form is pushed to an ex- 
treme, milk production is lessened, and that when 
the dairy form is pushed to an extreme, beef produc- 
tion is hindered. An illustration is thus given of 
the influence of a change in structure on function. 
But in this instance, modification of structure is not 
the sole cause of modification in function. The 
former works hand in hand with habit in producing 
such modification. Nor is the fact to be overlooked 
that what may be termed middle ground modification 
is not inconsistent with the production of a fair 
amount of meat and of milk in the one animal as 
illustrated in 'the development of the dual purpose 
cow. 2. In the influence of a marked increase or de- 
crease in flesh production on locomotion. The wild 
hog is swift as well as fierce. He is well muscled 



92 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

but not loaded down with fat, hence he can run swift- 
ly. His descendant, the domestic hog, when loaded 
with flesh cannot run fast. It is possible so to load 
him with fat that he rises upon his feet with difficulty. 
Here, again, is an illustration of the modifying in- 
fluence of structure upon function. 3. In the close 
relation between abundant milk production and pro- 
lificacy. It has been noticed that females which pro- 
duce milk freely, breed more regularly than those 
which are shy milkers. They also breed more abun- 
dantly when more than -one animal is produced at a 
birth, and, of course, the opposite of tins is true. 
In this fact an illustration is furnished of the modi- 
fying influence of function on function, both in the 
direction of suppression and increase. And 4, in the 
unusual development of one sense where another is 
deficient. Usually persons who are blind are possess- 
ed of the sense of touch in an unusual degree. This, 
of course, is owing chiefly to the care bestowed by the 
individual in educating that sense, that is to say, in 
developing the sense of touch. But it shows at the 
same time the indirect influence of function on func- 
tion. Similarly the sense of hearing is sometimes 
developed in an unusual degree by persons who are 
blind, and also the sense of smell. The same prin- 
ciple is operative in plant life. When an unusual 
growth is produced in grain or in fruit trees, it is so 
produced at the expense of grain production in the 
one instance and of fruit production in the other. 

Influences that affect Correlation. — The chief 
of the influences that affect correlation are : Environ- 
ment, habit and use, food and selection. Illustrations 
of the influence of environment on correlation may- 
be found in the lack of size in Shorthorns, confined 



THE LAW OF CORRELATION. 93 

to mountain pastures, without a corresponding de- 
crease in the size of the bone ; also in the adverse influ- 
ence of conditions too artificial on the breeding* pow- 
ers, though these conditions may secure good physical 
development. The influence of habit and use on 
correlation is shown in the increase of capacity in 
brain power which is frequently obtained at, the ex- 
pense of diminished muscular development, and in 
the increase in muscular development and staying 
power which may be obtained in the hard working 
boy and even in the athlete, though frequently at the 
expense of mental development. But, as with the 
development of milk and beef in the same animal in 
equilibrium, so is it with physical and mental develop- 
ment. It is only when either is carried to an extreme 
that it becomes incompatible. 

The influence exerted by food may be seen in 
various ways. Keep a young and growing animal on 
scant supplies, and the relation between the normal 
development of muscle and bone will be disturbed. 
There will be want of development in the former and 
overmuch development in the latter. Again feed a 
young calf an undue quantity of hay tea and adjuncts 
instead of new milk, and what may be termed the 
correlated harmony of development will be disturbed. 
The stomach will so distend that the animal will be 
always somewhat paunchy, and this, of course, at the 
expense of harmony of development. That selection 
in breeding may be made to exercise a powerful influ- 
ence on correlation may be readily shown from any 
one of a hundred illustrations that may be given. 
For instance, cross pure Southdown rams upon pure 
American Merinos and upon the progeny for several 
generations. Eventually the progeny will have the 



94 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

Southdown form, that is to say, an excellent mutton 
form, but it will have been obtained at a sacrifice of 
quantity and fineness in the wool. 

Value of the Knowledge of Correlated Struc- 
ture. — A knowledge of the correlated structure of 
domestic animals is of great practical utility, as by 
certain indications of external form cognizant to the 
senses we can judge of qualities hidden from view. 
For instance: 1. A strong horn and head and much 
bone in the limbs and tail indicate an undue amount 
of boue in the system for the highest production of 
meat. Because of this an animal, large and heavy, 
will frequently be rejected by the skilled butcher for 
one considerably less in size but with bone less coarse, 
for he knows the latter is likely to kill better, that 
is to say, it is likely to have less waste in the carcass 
and to possess a superior quality of meat. It is by 
external form accompanied by handling qualities as 
described in Chapter XVIII. that he is guided in 
the choice of animals for the block. From what he 
sees and finds without, he knows what to look for in 
the matter of flesh and fat within. 2. A wide chest 
and a low set, compact form are a guaranty of a good 
constitution. These are not by any means all the 
indications of a good constitution, as shown in Chap- 
ter XXIII. But so frequently has such form been 
found to indicate good constitution, that it is looked 
upon as a reasonably safe guide in judging of 
constitution, aside from the influence of the taint 
of inherited disease. 3. A long neck, flat ribs, 
hollow flanks, large joints, and ungainly limbs 
are among the indications of a natural tendency 
to delicacy of form as shown in Chapter VII. 
4. Large capacity of body, a fine head, neck, and 



THE LAW OF CORRE I - A TION. 95 

limbs, and a good development of udder, are among 
the leading indications of good milking qualities. 
Though they may not furnish an exact measure 
of milking capacity they furnish so safe a guide as to 
enable the dairyman to rely much upon these indica- 
tions when choosing dairy animals. And 5, a hard, 
unyielding skin and harsh coarse hair indicate poor 
feeding qualities. 

These indications are further discussed in Chap- 
ter VII. From what has just been said, it will be 
evident, that a knowledge of the laws of correlation 
lies at the basis of all selection in live stock, whether 
the selection has reference to the block, to the pail, or 
to breeding. 

Correlation, and Highest Development of In- 
dividual Qua! Hies. — This Law explains the difficulty 
experienced by breeders whose aim has been to secure, 
in the highest degree, development of essentially dif- 
ferent characteristics and qualities in the same ani- 
mal, as illustrated : 1, in the apparent antagonism 
in the development of beef producing and milk pro- 
ducing qualities in bovines ; :?, in the difficulty in pro- 
ducing wool and flesh of the highest excellence in the 
one individual sheep ; and 3, in the apparently im- 
possible attainment of highest excellence in mental 
and physical achievement by the one person. Push 
beef production beyond a certain limit and it reacts 
against milk production. Push milk production be- 
yond a certain limit and it reacts against beef pro- 
duction. These results have been experienced so fre- 
quently as to put this question beyond the realm of 
doubt. The highest excellence in wool production, at 
least as regards fineness, has been found incompatible 
with a high standard of mutton production, as wit- 



i)t> ANIMAL BREEDING. 

nessed in the breed known as Saxon Merino. The ex- 
periments of Bakewell in perfecting the mutton form 
were found to be antagonistic to equally high develop- 
ment in wool production. 

The most renowned thinkers in the world have 
never stood in the first rank as athletes, and those 
on the pinnacle of attainment in athletics have not 
stood in the first rank as thinkers. Carry attainment 
to its possible limit in any one of these directions and 
by the action of this law of correlation it hinders at- 
tainment in the other. It has the effect of lessening 
stamina even in the athlete. Those, therefore, who 
seek highest development in one quality will fail un- 
less they give due heed to the retention of stamina 
in the same. It must not be concluded, however, that 
"the development of antagonistic characters, at least in 
degree, is strictly incompatible. Their simultaneous 
development up to a certain limit is not only not in- 
compatible but it is mutually helpful. The dairy 
animal may be bred so far away from the beef form as 
to weaken dairy qualities. The beef form may be 
bred so far away from the dairy form as to almost 
obliterate the milking qualities and thereby react 
against beef production. Comparisons similar in 
their results could be made between avooI and flesh 
production in sheep, and between mental and physical 
attainments in men. Dual attainment, therefore, up 
to a certain limit in each of the two kinds of develop- 
ment thus contrasted is positively advantageous. This 
is strikingly apparent in the adverse influence which 
lack of physical vigor exercises on mental develop- 
ment. But it may not be possible to tell just exactly 
where the border line runs between action that is co- 
operative and helpful in the development of these 



THE LAW OF CORRELATION. 9< 

different characters, and action that becomes antago- 
nistic and hurtful. 

Equilibrium in the Organization and Correla- 
tion. — From what has been said it will be very evi- 
dent that an equilibrium of the organization can only 
be attained by the arrangement of its elements in 
strict accordance with the laws of correlation. A 
modification of a single character may involve re- 
arrangement of the dominant characteristics, and this 
may result in the transposition of latent character- 
istics which generate atavic tendencies. And this 
tendency to reversion may be much influenced by the 
character of the surroundings. For instance, when 
the attempt has been made to modify size in a breed 
beyond what the natural food supplies will maintain 
it has been noticed that the tendencies to reversion are 
particularly strong, and that these tendencies are 
further accentuated when cross breeding has been 
called in to aid in making the change. This accounts, 
in part, at least, for the many difficulties experienced 
by those who have attempted to improve animals by 
crossing them. 



CHAPTER IX. 

PREPOTENCY. 

Tjie question of prepotency is of great practical 
moment to the breeder of live stock, because of the 
direct influence which it has upon improvement or 
the want of this, in a stud, herd, or flock. Like many 
of the features of breeding it is only understood in 
part, but happily enough is known regarding it to en- 
able the skilled breeder to choose animals possessing 
it with a reasonable degree of certainty. 

Prepotency Defined. — Strictly speaking pre- 
potency is the superior power which one parent has 
over the other in determining the character of the 
offspring. But the term is more commonly used to 
indicate that power which an an'mal has to transmit 
its own qualities. Sometimes prepotency is general, 
having reference to breed, race, or species. When it 
is said that a breed is prepotent, it is meant that ani- 
mals of that breed are all possessed of much power 
to transmit the characteristics of the breed. In other 
instances prepotency is special, having reference to 
the individual. When an individual is said to be 
prepotent, it is meant that it has much power to trans- 
mit its own qualities to the offspring, that is to say 
when two animals are mated the parent possessed of 
superior prepotency will transmit in a greater degree 
than the other its own properties to the progeny. The 
great value of such power when breeding animals, 
especially in males, will be at once apparent. 



PREPOTENCY. 99 

Prepotency of Breed. — Prepotency of breed or 
race is clearly brought out when two distinct breeds 
are crossed. The offspring will more nearly resemble 
the breed possessed of the most marked prepotency. 
There is a great difference in the prepotency of breeds 
as such. The Galloways among cattle are noted for 
their prepotency. When crossed upon other breeds 
and especially upon grades, the progeny are nearly 
all black and hornless. Similarly, the American Meri- 
nos among the breeds of sheep have great power to 
transmit the characteristics of the breed to the prog- 
eny when crossed upon other breeds and more espe- 
cially when crossed upon the grades of these. The 
mule, the progeny of the ass and the mare, is possessed 
of more of the features and characteristics of the 
male parent. The cause, as is further shown below, is 
the same in each instance, viz., the long periods dur- 
ing which these animals have been bred pure. Breed 
prepotency is also shown in the quick transformation 
of the common or mixed classes of animals to the type 
of the breed from which the males have been chosen. 
All the breeds will not effect transformation with 
equal rapidity, since all are not equally prepotent. 
The most prepotent breeds will, of course, effect such 
change the most quickly. And they will effect it more 
quickly on animals much mixed in breeding than on 
those more highly graded. The reasons are given at 
length in Chapter XXVI. , which treats of up-grad- 
ing. 

Individual Prepotency. — Prepotency in the in- 
dividual is shown- in the closeness of the resemblance 
in the progeny to the parent and to one another. The 
second result mentioned is, of course, effected by the 
same influences as produced the first, and is one of 



Lol 



100 



ANIMAL BREEDING. 




PREPOTENCY. 101 

the strongest evidences of prepotency in the indi- 
vidual, since it shows in a marked degree the power 
of the one individual animal to transmit its own in- 
dividual characteristics to the progeny, though mated 
with different individuals. These will, of course, be 
possessed of different degrees of prepotency. The 
power of the one animal so to overcome these as to 
produce a progeny that closely resemble one another is 
the highest evidence of prepotency. And each animal 
added to the list of such progeny is an additional 
evidence of prepotency. The greater the diversity in 
the parents of the progeny thus assimilated, the 
stronger is the evidence of prepotency in the one par- 
ent of the opposite sex which has effected such as- 
similation. Prepotency is usually more manifest in 
males, for reasons given below in the paragraph which 
discusses prepotency specially important in males, 
but it may also characterize females as well as males. 
Instances are not uncommon in which the resemblance 
between the different members of one family is so 
close, that family relationship may readily be traced 
from such resemblance, and it has been inherited from 
the mother. 

The evidences of prepotency are usually more 
clearly apparent when the resemblance is manifest in 
the offspring of animals of the same pure breed or of 
different pure breeds as contrasted with grades. For 
instance, if a "pure male in the one instance were to 
beget progeny from females of the same breed which 
bear a close resemblance to the male parent, this result 
would be a stranger evidence of prepotency in the 
male than a similar result produced by mating him 
with females of mixed breeding, since the resistance 
to modification in the progeny of the females in the 



102 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

first instance would be stronger than resistance to the 
same in the females in the second instance. And if 
there was a close resemblance* in the progeny of pure 
females of different breeds, no stronger evidence of 
prepotency in the males could be furnished, since in 
these instances his potency had to effect change when 
resistance was both strong and diverse in character. 
In rare instances, however, the resemblance in the 
progeny to one of the parents may be traced in grades. 
The reason why those instances are rare arises from 
the lack of dominant properties which characterize 
grades because of the mixed character of their breed- 
ing. 

Influences that Produce Prepotency of Type. — 
The following are chief among the influences that 
produce prepotency of type or breed, viz. : the dura- 
tion of the period during which the animals have been 
bred pure, and the inherent vigor of the type, race, 
or breed. The fact has been noticed as stated previ- 
ously in Chapter III. that animals whose pure breed- 
ing is of great antiquity transmit their properties 
with more certainty than those of breeds formed with- 
in a comparatively recent period. Galloway cattle, 
for instance, transmit their properties with more ex- 
actness than Aberdeen Angus cattle. The progeny 
which is the outcome of a Galloway crossed upon 
grades, will more uniformly inherit the black color 
and the hornlessness of Galloway sires, than the prog- 
env of Aberdeen Angus sires crossed upon similar 
grades. 

The progeny of American Merino rams crossed 
upon grades will more surely inherit the form and 
properties of the Merinos, than will the progeny of 
Oxford Down sires crossed upon grades inherit the 



PREPOTENCY. 103 

properties of the Oxford Downs. Similarly the prog- 
eny of Yorkshire swine crossed upon grades will in- 
herit the properties of the Yorkshires more than will 
the progeny of Poland Chinas thus crossed inherit 
the properties of Poland Chinas. The progeny of 
the Yorkshires will be almost uniformly white in 
color, that of the Poland Chinas will be variable in 
color. The reason is the same in each instance, that 
is to say, the Galloways, the American Merinos, and 
the Yorkshire breeds have been bred pure for a longer 
period than the Aberdeen Angus the Oxford Down 
and the Poland China breeds. 

But it is probable, as previously intimated, that 
there is a period when antiquity of breeding will cease 
to add to the prepotency of animals, that is to say, 
it is not certain that an animal from ancestry bred 
pure for "five hundred years will be less prepotent 
than an animal from ancestry bred pure for one 
thousand years. It is not known, however, where 
antiquity of breeding will cease to add- to potency in 
breeding. It is probable that the time will vary with 
varying conditions. Inherent vigor of type, race, or 
breed is a powerful factor in determining prepotency 
in the breed as it is in the individual. The reasons 
doubtless rest upon the acknowledged superior trans- 
mitting power which strength has over weakness and 
stamina over the want of stamina. This in part ac- 
counts for the superior transmitting power of Gallo- 
way cattle, Merino sheep, and Yorkshire swine. 

Influences that Produce Prepotency in the Indi- 
vidual. — The following are chief among the influ- 
ences that affect prepotency in the individual, viz. : 
Purity of blood, strong constitutional development, 
and in-and-in breeding. Purity of breeding and dura- 



104 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

tion in the same strengthen prepotency in the indi- 
vidual as they do in the breed or race. They strength- 
en prepotency because they make and maintain dom- 
inance in properties. Each increment of alien blood 
introduced becomes a disturbing factor to fixedness 
in properties, and, therefore, it becomes a disturbing 
factor to certainty in transmission. On the other 
hand each generation of pure breeding adds to dom- 
inance in properties till these become so dominant 
that further improvement in that direction may not 
easily be made. Because of this the unwisdom of us- 
ing grade, cross bred, or scrub sires or any other sires 
not purely bred will be at once apparent. The reasons 
why strong constitutional development strengthens 
prepotency in the individual as also in the breed or 
race are the same. They come from that inherent 
mastery which strength has over weakness. This 
explains why breeding from animals in the meridian 
of vigor, that is to say, neither young nor old, gives a 
progeny superior to those bred from animals imma- 
ture or declining through age. 

The room for selection on the lines of vigor is far 
greater in the individual than in the race, because of 
the many individuals in the race or breed as compared 
with the fewness of races. Vigor in the individual, 
therefore, can be turned to more practical account 
than vigor in the race. In-and-in breeding aids pre- 
potency because it strengthens dominant properties. 
The more inbred animals are, the more intense their 
power to transmit such properties as they possess. 
This explains why the masters in forming breeds al- 
ways resorted to in-and-in breeding for a time when 
they were doing this. It also shows the wisdom in 
some instances of giving the preference to desirable 



prepotp:ncy. 105 

sires that are more or less inbred and that are at the 
same time possessed of much bodily vigor. These 
three influences acting in conjunction should give 
the highest prepotency attainable. 

Minor Influences that Affect Prepotency. — Pre- 
potency is influenced more or less by certain minor 
influences, as, 1. The existence of what may be term- 
ed secondary sexual characters. Sebright bantams 
with the perfect hen-formed tail in the males are less 
productive than those with a tendency to the develop- 
ment of sickle feathers. Rumpless fowls with the 
tail entirely wanting are much prone to lay infertile 
eggs, and sires with what may be termed a feminine 
head are rejected by skilled breeders, since it has 
been noticed that they prove less satisfactory as breed- 
ers. 

2. The limitation to one sex of the power to trans- 
mit certain characters. For instance, it has been 
ascertained that in some instances only males, and 
in other instances only females, transmit certain forms 
of disease, at least for a time. The claim has also 
been made, based on certain statistics, that some dis- 
eases as consumption, for instance, are more readily 
inherited in males from the male parent, and in 
females from the female parent. 

3. The lack of affinity in certain characters which 
makes it difficult to blend them. These make the in- 
fluences that modify and tend to unify stronger than 
when there is more of affinity between alien properties. 
The causes of variation are seldom well understood. 
The fact, however, has been noticed, that animals of 
known prepotency will beget much more of resem- 
blance to themselves in the progeny resulting from 
a cross upon certain pure breeds than upon certain 
other pure breeds. 



106 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

4. By the effects of a previous fertilization of 
the mother. In certain instances it has been noticed 
that when a female of a certain breed produces by 
a male of another pure breed, and is then bred to a 
sire of her own breed, she does not always breed true 
to type. And in some instances females thus mated 
have never bred quite true to type again. But this 
question is further discussed in Chapter XIV. Here 
then are elements that disturb prepotency, but they do 
not disturb it equally nor so seriously as to make 
breeding a game of chance. 

Animals Similarly Bred may Differ much in 
Prepotency. — That animals- similarly bred and pos- 
sessing precisely the same blood elements frequently 
differ widely in the degree of the prepotency which 
they possess has been noticed again and again, hence, 
there is no absolute guaranty of prepotency in near 
relationship. Many instances could be cited in sup- 
port of the statement just made. In few of these has 
the contrast in prepotency between animals bred just 
alike been more apparent than in the thoroughbred 
horses, Touchstone and Launcelot. Stonehenge re- 
cords of the progeny of the former, that they showed 
much uniformity of color and on the whole possessed 
high form as race horses, while the progeny of the 
latter were of all colors and below mediocrity on the 
turf. These horses were full brothers. Instances 
have come under the observation of the author in 
which pure bred males have been purchased, because 
of prepotency and good breeding qualities in mem- 
bers of the same family, which were quite disappoint- 
ing. The conclusion must not be reached, however, 
that similarity in breeding is no guaranty of pre- 
potency, for in other instances several, if not, indeed, 



PREPOTENCY. 107 

all, the members of the same family have been noted 
for their prepotency. It is simply not an absolute 
guaranty. Nor can prepotency be absolutely assured, 
as being the outcome of any particular method of 
breeding, as instances have been found in which high- 
ly inbred animals have not been prepotent. Again, 
some animals are prepotent, if the term may be thus 
used, in transmitting the qualities of their ancestors 
rather than their own. This accounts for the fact 
that some sires not possessed of sufficient finish them- 
selves to enter the show ring, have proved noted sires 
of prize winners. Such was the great stock bull, 
Knight of Warlaby (29014) owned by J. & K. 
Hunter of Alma, Ontario. 

Rules Governing Prepotency not easily Framed. 
— The difficulties which surround the subject of pre- 
potency are emphasized by what has been said in 
the preceding paragraph. Because of these difficulties 
it is impossible to formulate rules which govern it. 
But, as previously stated, purity of breeding and in- 
dications of bodilv visor taken together furnish a 
strong guaranty of its presence. These are, indeed, 
the most tangible guaranties of prepotency that can 
be furnished before it has been proved by actual 
test. It is also true that marked prepotency is likely 
to be transmitted, at least in degree. If that were not 
true the first great law of breeding would not be to 
the breeder a reasonably safe guide. An animal, 
the progeny of prepotent ancestry, is certainly likely 
to be more prepotent than an animal whose ancestors 
have not been' prepotent. There is also a close inter- 
dependence betAveen prepotency and in-and-in breed- 
ing. But when practiced by those not well skilled 
in the art of in-and-in breeding, it can scarcelv be 



108 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

reckoned as a factor in choosing prepotent sires by the 
average breeder. On the other hand it has been used 
as an aid in producing some of the most prepotent 
sires that have ever existed. But this result has only 
been secured by skillful breeders. 

Prepotency in Animals Inferior Individually. — 
Prepotency somewhat marked is sometimes found in 
animals inferior in individual characteristics, and in 
those with a strong bias to certain forms of disease, 
and the more pure the breeding the more likely is 
such prepotency to be found. Because of this, there 
is always much hazard in using sires possessed of 
inferior individual qualities. In breeding pure breds 
some inferior specimens will appear, even when the 
work is wisely and skillfully conducted. When those 
animals are offered for sale for breeding purposes, 
they are usually held at reduced prices. Those who 
are about to introduce pure bred sires into their herds, 
it may be for the first time, are much prone to invest 
in those inferior specimens, because of the compara- 
tively low price at which such animals are offered. 
It would appear that such purchasers expect pedigree 
to make up for inferior individual merit. The effect 
may be just the opposite. In fact, it is likely to be, as 
a result of the first law of breeding. Because of this 
hazard it is considered safer to breed from high grades 
of superior individuality than from pure breds of in- 
ferior individuality. There is the chance, however, 
that the individually inferior pure-bred parent may 
transmit the qualities of an ancestry superior to them- 
selves, but that such transmission will follow is far 
less probable than that the transmission will take 
after the parents. Inferior individuals, therefore, 
however purely bred, should not be bred from. 



PREPOTENCY. 109 

Marked Prepotency not of Great Frequency. — 
Very marked prepotency is not of great frequency 
even in pure-breds. Of this fact no stronger proof 
can be furnished than that which comes from the 
"Grasmere" herd of Shorthorns located near Lexing- 
ton, Ky. This herd was founded in 1831, and was 
owned and personally supervised by Mr. William 
Warfield, the author of "Cattle Breeding" and prob- 
ably without a peer in the knowledge of the rules that 
govern breeding. Mr. Warfield testifies that during 
fifty-seven years of the existence of this herd, of the 
twenty-seven sires used, only five or six of the entire 
number possessed prepotency in a marked degree, al- 
though without exception they had been chosen on 
principles that were likely to insure prepotency as far 
as these principles are known. 

Each pure breed has its list of sires of outstand- 
ing prepotency but the list is not a very long one. 
Some. of these animals were wonderfully impressive 
in their day, howsoever mated. So famous were they 
as sires that breeders to this day frequently refer with 
pride to the fact that animals owned by them trace to 
these potent sires, even after the lapse of one hundred 
years and more. But those who do thus would do well 
to remember that with animals as with men, too much 
may be made of memorable ancestry. The value of 
such blood may have been greatly neutralized by sub- 
sequent breeding. But even though not thus weak- 
ened, after the lapse of a limited number of genera- 
tions, it can only be present in an infinitesimal degree 
except where- more or less of continued in-and-in 
breeding has been practiced. 

Prepotency Specially Important in Males. — 
The prepotent quality is specially important in males, 



110 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

owing first, to the much greater influence which they 
exert relatively and absolutely in the stud, herd, or 
Hock, and second, to the use that is made of them in 
the improvement of all classes of stock, hence, all 
the great breeders aimed at choosing their males from 
sub-families more highly inbred than the average 
of .their stock. When but one male is used in a stud, 
herd or flock his influence on the progeny is equal to 
that of the sum of the influence of all the females com- 
bined when the individual excellence and prepotency 
of each female is on a par with that of the male. 
When, however, his individual excellence and pre- 
potency are greater than that of each female, his in- 
fluence on the progeny will be as much greater than 
that of the combined influence of all the females as 
his individual excellence and prepotency exceeds 
theirs. The importance, therefore, of choosing sires 
of the very highest excellence and prepotency cannot 
easily be overestimated. If the desired prepotency 
can be obtained without in-breeding it is usually 
preferable to have it so, but marked prepotency is 
more frequently found in animals more or less inbred. 
Prepotency not Assured until Proven. — Pre- 
potency in a sire is not assured nor can it be, until 
it is proved in his progeny. All the requisites may be 
present that tend to assure prepotency, and yet it 
may not be present in a degree that is satisfactory. 
Because of this a young sire should be used cautiously 
at the first, that is to say he should be mated with 
only a limited number of high bred females until 
evidences of his prepotency are furnished in the 
progeny. To mate a male whose prepotency is un- 
proved with all the females in the stud, herd, or flock, 
would be a hazard which no breeder of valuable, pure 



PJREPOTENCY. Ill 

bred stock can afford. But as soon as it has been 
ascertained that a sire is prepotent the most should 
be made of his presence by using him to as great an 
extent as is practicable, but not to the extent of 
shortening the period of his usefulness. 

A sire in the meridian of vigor whose prepotency 
has been proved, is a far safer investment than a 
younger sire equally good but whose prepotency has 
not been proved. And yet in choosing sires the rule 
with many is to purchase the latter in preference 
to the former. Valuable sires that are markedly pre- 
potent should never be discarded until they have 
passed the meridian of their usefulness. If the owner 
must make a change to avoid in-breeding, some one 
else should secure the prepotent prize. The value of 
a markedly prepotent sire, many of whose progeny 
are good enough to win prizes in leading show ring's 
cannot be easily overestimated. There have been 
instances in which the possession of one such animal 
has brought competency to the owner. 



CHAPTER X. 

IN-AND-IN BREEDING. 

No feature of animal husbandry has given rise 
to more controversy than that of in-and-in breeding. 
From the days of Bakewell onward there has been 
a wide difference of opinion as to the place that should 
be assigned to it in the experience of the ordinary 
breeder. Some have regarded it as altogether helpful 
and others as altogether harmful. Because of this 
extreme difference in view the question has been much 
discussed in the agricultural press, and frequently to 
but little purpose. These differences in opinion are 
doubtless the outcome of shortsighted and incomplete 
views on this question. Many have looked only at 
certain phases of the subject without viewing it in its 
entirety, consequently they have failed to discern the 
place that should and should not be assigned to it by 
the breeder when conducting his operations. It will 
be the aim in this chapter to discuss the question from 
an unprejudiced standpoint. 

Terms that Indicate Close-breeding. — The terms 
applied to the breeding of related animals are various, 
and they have been used in a sense so loose that fre- 
quently using them has brought confusion rather than 
clearness of conception to the mind of the reader. 
Such terms as in-breeding, close-breeding, inter-breed- 
ing, and in-and-in breeding, have frequently been 
used as though they were synonymous and legitimate- 
ly interchangeable. This may be said, in a loose sense 



IN-AND-IN BREEDING. 113 

only, of the first three terms, but not of the fourth, 
and even in the former a shade of difference in the 
meaning is discernible. The terms in-breeding, close- 
breeding, and inter-breeding, are generally used to 
indicate the breeding together of animals more or 
less closely related, in a single instance, or at intervals 
of a greater or less distance. These terms have been 
thus applied indiscriminately, and yet as stated above, 
a shade of diiference is discernible Avhen they are 
critically compared. Manifestly in-breeding denotes 
the breeding together of related animals in a single 
instance without much regard to the closeness of the 
relationship. Close-breeding indicates closeness of 
relationship in animals thus bred. And inter-breed- 
ing naturally raises in the mind the breeding together 
of related animals of alien blood, and should be so 
used. 

In-and-in Breeding Defined. — The term in-and- 
in breeding properly indicates the breeding together 
of animals that are closely related for a number of 
successive generations. It has reference to repetition 
and close continuity in the breeding together of the 
related animals, whereas in-breeding has reference to 
single acts of coupling relatives, even though there 
should be occasional repetition in these acts. Such 
repetition in breeding even at intervals, would seem in 
a sense to involve in-and-in breeding of a weak sort, 
but to avoid ambiguity the author prefers to include 
these under the head of in-breeding. 

Xo absolute rule has been chosen to define the ex- 
act degree of the relationship, nor, indeed, can it be 
so chosen. The animals of kin may be of the closest 
possible relationship, as parent and progeny, sister 
and brother, or the relationship may be more distant. 



114 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

The more close the relationship in the animals mated 
the more intense is the in-and-in breeding. Since the 
degree of the relationship in the animals mated may 
differ much, the results growing out of such mating 
will also differ much, and this throws some light on 
the wide difference in view as to the value of in-and- 
in breeding. 

Practiced Purposely and Inadvertently. — In- 
and-in breeding has been practiced purposely and in- 
advertently. It has been practiced purposely by the 
improvers of live stock and as a means to an end, and 
when judiciously practiced by them has effected great 
good. The precise objects sought, or at least some of 
them, are given below. It has also been practiced 
inadvertently by the careless breeder of grades who 
has chosen his males from within the same herd or 
flock from generation to generation, and very much 
to the injury of the same. The injury resulting has 
not grown solely out of the in-and-in breeding as such, 
but also from the lack of intelligence shown in the 
selection of the males chosen. In the selection of such 
males, size without regard to form has usually been 
the determining factor. Under such a system of 
breeding no substantial progress can be made. 

Objects of In-and-in Breeding. — The objects of 
in-and-in breeding are, or ought to be, 1, the more 
speedily to secure desirable characters in animals, 
and, 2, the more quickly to secure uniformity and per- 
manence in the transmission of these. The first object, 
then, is to secure the desirable characters and to 
secure them quickly. Why in-and-in breeding can 
effect this and do it quickly may be illustrated as 
follows ; — 

In one instance take animals of mixed breeding 



IN-AND-IN BREEDING. 115 

and mate them. Choose sires of the form desired if 
they can be obtained from outside sources and of 
similar breeding and mate them. Such breeding, 
howsoever long continued, would not result in mark- 
ed fixedness of type or indeed in fixedness of type at 
all. In a second instance take animals of the same 
breed, though differing in form, and mate them. Con- 
tinue to choose sires within the breed of desirable 
form, but unrelated, and mate them with the progeny 
and ultimately but not for several, probably many 
generations, will fixedness of type be reached. In a 
third instance, choose females of the same breed but 
unlike in form, select a male of desirable form within 
the breed to mate with these, and select males from 
the progeny to mate with the females of the same. 
In a very limited number of generations unification 
in type will have been reached. 

In the first instance the alien blood in the sires 
of mixed breeding becomes a disturbing factor an- 
tagonistic to fixedness in type, hence it cannot be 
reached by such breeding. In the second instance 
purity in blood gives potency in transmission favor- 
able to unification in form providing the unrelated 
sires are carefully chosen with regard to such form, 
hence in time fixedness in type is reached. In the 
third instance related blood intensifies the transmis- 
sion and usually in proportion to the closeness of the 
relationship in the animals mated, hence the shortness 
of the time required to secure unification in type. 
The influences that lead to unification in type also 
lead to uniformity and permanence in the transmis- 
sion of the same, hence the great power which in-and- 
in breeding has to further these ends. 

In-and-in Breeding a Necessity in Forming 



116 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

Breeds. — In the formation of breeds, in-and-in breed- 
ing has been found a necessity, as in no other way 
can desirable qualities be unified speedily and render- 
ed permanent, and in no other way can undesirable 
variations be quickly eliminated. The quick uni- 
fication of desirable qualities and securing per- 
manency in them has just been illustrated. To secure 
these quickly, let it be observed two things are neces- 
sary; first, the animals mated must have these desir- 
able qualities, and second, breeding them in-and-in 
must be practiced. Similarly, in eliminating unde- 
sirable qualities, the animals mated must be as free 
as possible from these and they must be bred similar- 
ly. But to secure these results in a marked degree 
the greatest care must be exercised in selecting ani- 
mals possessed of the desirable properties and as far 
as possible free from the undesirable variations. That 
a long time would elapse before similarity of type 
could be reached without in-and-in breeding has also 
been shown above. 

In-and-in Breeding Practiced in Forming new 
Breeds. — Since in-and-in breeding has been found 
a necessity in forming new breeds, it is only to be 
expected that it would be practiced by the framers 
of new breeds and also by the improvers o± all or 
nearly all the improved breeds that have been so im- 
proved. It was only m a few animals that the de- 
sirable variations were found which they sought to 
render permanent. 

To some the statement just made may seem far 
fetched, but it will not be challenged by anyone who 
has had experience in the search for animals that ex- 
actly represent an ideal. They are few, indeed, and 
the higher the ideal the more rare are they. And in 



IN-AND-IN BREEDING. 117 

many instances these have been derived from a com- 
mon ancestry. Especially is this true of animals 
chosen within a breed as the materials to be used for 
its improvement. This cannot be true, however, at 
the first, of the materials with which new breeds are 
formed from others of alien blood. But in forming 
these it has frequently happened that crossing and 
inter-crossing animals of those breeds has been prac- 
ticed for some time before the attempt was made to 
form them into new breeds. The excellent results 
obtained from such inter-crossing created the idea of 
distinct breed formation. The materials, therefore, 
that were thus used, at the time when the idea crystal- 
lized to form them into a new breed, were consequent- 
ly in a sense derived from a common ancestry. Thus 
it was that the Hampshire Down and Oxford Down 
breeds of sheep Avere established. 

In-and-in Breeding more Practiced to Produce 
Sires.— Of course in the formation of new breeds or 
types, all the animals, the progeny of these first chosen 
as foundation materials, were more or less inbred. 
But as time went on the in-breeding became less in- 
tense as the progeny multiplied, and as other females 
were added as they sometimes were from outside 
sources. In other instances out-crosses were finally 
introduced more or less, so that with the herd or type 
as a whole it could scarcely be said that in-and-in 
breeding was kept up. At the same time it was fre- 
quently practiced more or less within one or more 
families from which the sires were chiefly drawn, 
as experience proved what science had proclaimed, 
that such males were more prepotent than males not 
thus inbred. The advantages from in-and-in breeding 
are thus substantiallv secured with less hazard than 



118 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

if both males and females had been thus inbred. Be- 
cause of this the in-and-in bred property in the males 
is relatively more valuable than in the females. 

Evils Resulting from In-and-in Breeding. — In- 
and-in breeding, when carried too far, will produce 
along with other evils : loss of size, delicacy of consti- 
tution, and general deterioration. Illustrations of such 
loss are given below in each of the several ways men- 
tioned, and these evils may be hastened or retarded 
by the nature of the conditions to which the animals 
are subjected. The influence growing out of these 
conditions and which lead to delicacy will be intensi- 
fied in their action through in-and-in breeding. These 
results would seem to be a protest of nature against 
the too persistent use of influences that hinder varia- 
tion. Too much of sameness in form would perhaps 
be_a greater evil than too much of variation. 

Loss of Size front In-and-in Breeding. — That 
in-and-in breeding tends to loss of size is shown in 
the necessity for it in breeding toy pigeons and ban- 
tam fowls. With these want of size rather than size 
is sought, and experience has shown, other things 
being equal, that the more closely the fowls are inbred 
the smaller they are. The same thing is also clearly 
brought out in the condition of the common herds and 
flocks where the sires are chosen as it were in an 
aimless way from within the limits of the same. As 
a rule the size grows less and less the longer and the 
more rigidly the plan is adhered to. When such ani- 
mals have been taken to other surroundings, and other 
sires have been brought from outside sources, im- 
provement has at once been noticeable, and this has 
given rise to the popular but fallacious idea that a 
change in pastures and surroundings will of itself 
tend to renovate. 



IN-AND-IN BREEDING. 119 



Greater Delicacy from In-and-in Breeding. — 
That in-and-in breeding tends to greater delicacy of 
constitution is evidenced in the much greater fre- 
quency of tuberculosis and other diseases in the descend- 
ants of animals that have been long inbred. Among 
the Shorthorn types none have been more persistently 
inbred than the Bates families, and it would probably 
be correct to say that in no other class of Shorthorns 
is tuberculosis so frequently found. In-and-in breed- 
ing has also been carried to a great length among cer- 
tain families of Jerseys, and in these the tendency 
to tuberculous affections has been quite pronounced. It 
has further been noticed in the delicacy of many of 
the calves of highly inbred females. The mortality 
among these is much larger than among calves of 



cows not thus inbred. It may not be easy to substan- 
tiate these statements in the absence of figures col- 
lected from the facts, but the belief in their correct- 
ness among intelligent breeders is so general as to in- 
fluence them when purchasing animals of either of the 
classes named. Xor is it to be understood that they 
apply to any but families that have been long and 
persistently inbred. 

This increased tendency to disease may in part 
be accounted for by the greater certainty with which 
vitiated powers arising from other causes are trans- 
mitted. For instance, conditions unduly artificial 
would sap general stamina, and the loss of stamina 
would accentuate the tendency toward tuberculosis 
begotten by in-and-in breeding. 

Loss of -Reproducing Power from In-and-in 
Breeding. — That in-and-in breeding carried beyond 
a certain limit eventually leads to impaired powers 
of reproduction cannot be questioned, it has been so 



120 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

long and so frequently noticed in families that have 
been closely bred together for a prolonged period. 
Experiments in breeding swine in-and-in for several 
generations have shown that the breeding powers 
became greatly impaired in consequence, and that 
physical degeneracy manifested itself in other ways. 
This tendency to impaired reproduction may mani- 
fest itself in various forms. It may come in the form 
of impotency or the inability to beget, infertility or 
the inability to reproduce, or in the form of impair- 
ed fecundity, that is to say, a lessened power to breed 
frequently and numerously. It may also be shown 
in the greater tendency to abortion or in some form 
of organic disease of the generative organs. 

But the loss of reproductive power may in many 
instances be intensified only, rather than caused by 
in-and-in breeding, and in other instances the repro- 
ductive power may be said to be latent or partially so. 
This will be all the more apparent when it is remem- 
bered that in-and-in breeding is only one of the causes 
of a lessened power of reproduction. It has been 
noticed that some females are incapable of breeding 
to males near of kin to them, while they will breed 
to males of alien blood or of the same blood though 
unrelated. This would point to breeding powers in a 
sense latent under certain conditions, but not so 
under others. 

General Deterioration from In-and-in Breeding. 
— In-and-in breeding, when long continued evidently 
leads to deterioration of the whole animal system, 
as witnessed in the degeneracy manifested in Long- 
horn cattle after the master builders had passed away. 
The most noted breeders of these contemporary with 
Bakewell and subsequent to his time, followed his 



IN-AND-BREEDING. 121 

plan of breeding them too closely. The final out- 
come has been that the society for promoting the in- 
terests of Longhorns in England has gone out of ex- 
istence. It would not, perhaps, be correct to say that 
in-and-in breeding alone is responsible for such a 
result, as the Longhorns never stood so high in the 
public estimate as the Shorthorns, yet the fact re- 
mains that it was one of the potent factors which 
contributed to such a result. 

It is further witnessed in the necessity which 
compels its virtual abandonment in families in which 
it has been long practiced. ~No instance is on record 
in which in-and-in breeding has been continued in- 
definitely. In but few instances has it been prac- 
ticed with entire success during the whole of the 
period covered by the experience of one individual, 
when such experience covered many years. It is 
not recorded that Robert Bakewell was forced to 
modify the intensity of the in-and-in breeding which 
he practiced, but it should be remembered that the 
material with which he began was vigorous. There 
are no reasons for believing that it had upon it the 
taint of weakened stamina, the outcome of previous 
in-and-in breeding. It has also been noticed that dis- 
astrous results have flowed from it wherever long prac- 
ticed in the human family. The proportion of deaf 
and dumb in such instances, of imbeciles, of idiots, 
and deformed, is unusually large. Evidently no 
mistake was made by the divine Lawgiver in the 
legislation which He gave to the race prohibiting in- 
cestuous marriages. 

In-and-in Breeding Cannot be Carried on In- 
definitely. — Although in-and-in breeding may be 
adopted with much advantage for a time, under proper 



122 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

conditions, there is a limit which it cannot safely 
pass. This limit line beyond which it cannot be 
carried without hazard cannot be fixed by rule, as 
so much depends on the vigor and stamina of the 
stock used where in-and-in breeding is practiced. A 
breed with powers unimpaired by artificial conditions 
of domestication will longer withstand the undermin- 
ing tendencies of in-and-in breeding. The more of 
stamina and vigor possessed by the animals at the 
outset, the longer, of course, can the process be con- 
tinued before the evils that have been named appear. 
The in-and-in breeding practiced in the famous Sitty- 
ton herd was less intense than that practiced in 
the herds of some of the master Shorthorn builders, 
created at an earlier period, hence the Sittyton 
"sage," the immortal Amos Cruikshank, was able to 
close his useful work on the lines on which he had 
all along conducted it. 

In the formation of breeds, the stock chosen to 
be inbred are the best formed and most vigorous 
types that are to be found. The process is safe, 
therefore, and helpful for a time. But suppose a 
new departure were made from foundation animals 
already so highly inbred that they showed signs of 
weakened vigor, it would result in the most complete 
failure, however skillfully conducted. Thomas Bates, 
one of the most skillful of the breeders which his cen- 
tury has produced, was compelled to introduce certain 
out-crosses to mate with at least some of the animals 
of his herd that had been highly inbred. 

Since, therefore, certain evils eventually grow 
out of in-and-in breeding no matter how wisely con- 
ducted, it should be discontinued before such evils 
appear. It may be difficult to tell just where the 



IN-AND-IN BREEDING. 123 

danger line is before the indications manifest them- 
selves. These indications should be taken as warning 
signals by the breeder and he should govern his work 
accordingly. 

In-and-in Breeding Conducted Under standingly. 
— In-and-in breeding should not be adopted by those 
who do not understand it, or who may practice it in a 
haphazard way. It is like a sword with two edges, 
which cuts backward and forward according as it 
is wielded. When the animals so in-and-in bred are 
wisely chosen desirable properties will be secured and 
so stamped upon the progeny as to be rendered per- 
manent. But if the materials should be unwisely 
chosen then undesirable properties would appear and 
with a persistence that would tend to discourage those 
engaged in the work. The task of selecting animals 
to be thus inbred is not an easy one even for the 
skilled breeder. How much more then is it difficult for 
the unskilled. Defects may be present such as those, 
for instance, which are not apparent to the eye, and 
when they are they become intensified by in-and-in 
breeding. 



CHAPTEK XL 



LINE BREEDING. 



Line breeding has been practiced by not a few 
who object to in-and-in breeding in the full meaning 
of the term. It would probably be correct to say that 
but a few of the more noted herds and flocks have 
been long maintained without more or less of line 
breeding having been practiced in the families from 
which the males have been chosen. 

Line Breeding Defined. — Line breeding may be 
defined as the process of breeding within the mem- 
bers of one family or of a limited number of families 
possessed of similar types. As usually conducted no 
animals are inter-bred which are not closely connect- 
ed in the general lines of their blood. Strictly speak- 
ing it is in a sense a continuation of in-and-in breed- 
ing, the relationships in line breeding, however, being 
more distant. The animals that are line bred are 
more commonly descended from animals that have 
been bred in-and-in. Lor instance, from a few 
foundation animals closely in-and-in bred, sever- 
al divergent streams may flow out. These divergent 
streams represent families and very probably more 
or less divergent types. When the streams become 
fully divergent, that is to say, from the time the 
families become distinctly separate, the males are 
chosen from within these families, sometimes called 
strains, and from that separating period line breed- 
ing may be said to begin. 



LINE BREEDING. 125 

But line breeding may also be the outcome of 
the blending of two distinct strains, each of which 
has probably been more or less in-bred. It differs 
from in-breeding in the virtual exclusion of alien 
blood and in continuity. The relationships in the 
former are in a sense closer. When in-breeding, the 
blood may be promiscuous in its near origin. When 
line breeding, it is unmixed with extraneous blood 
from what may be regarded as its starting point. 
Line breeding may be spoken of as repeated acts of 
in-breeding, the relations becoming less close as the 
starting point is receded from, because of the increase 
in the number of the individuals. 

The Starting Point in Line Breedyig. — As now 
understood it would not be possible in all instances 
to define exactly the starting point of line breeding. 
It may commence with a pair of animals, or with 
a limited number. When it does, in-and-in breeding 
of necessity is practiced at the first. But it may also 
commence at a later period in the history of the 
breed. More commonly it begins at that point where 
the outcome of in-and-in breeding diverges sufficiently 
to admit of the formation of distinct families descend- 
ed wholly or chiefly from one ancestor. In line breed- 
ing the males are subsequently chosen from this 
family. 

Close Breeding Defined. — Close breeding signi- 
fies the mating of animals closely related. Its relation- 
ship to in-and-in breeding has already been pointed 
out (see page 112). In some instances it may mean 
the same thing as line breeding, but ordinarily it 
differs from the latter in the relationships being 
closer, and from in-and-in breeding in their not being 
so close. It differs further from line breeding in the 



126 ANIMAL BREEDING, 

less degree of the continuity in the breeding. As 
with the other terms applied to breeding it is not 
easily defined. It is not easy to distinguish in all 
instances between what should be regarded as close 
breeding and what as line breeding. 

High Breeding Defined. — High breeding signi- 
fies a rigorous selection of breeding stock with refer- 
ence to a definite standard. It is sometimes regarded 
as synonymous with close breeding, but it differs from 
close breeding and also from line breeding in allowing 
the selections to extend to unrelated animals. High 
breeding may have reference to form only or to pedi- 
gree or to both. Usually it has reference to both. 
Where practiced, a high standard is set as to both 
form and pedigree, and the animals to be mated are 
chosen accordingly. They may be related or unrelat- 
ed, that is to say, this line of breeding may be the 
same as in-and-in breeding or the same as line breed- 
ing, or it may be neither, or a combination of these 
systems. 

When it considers only animal form it is not like- 
ly to be markedly successful. Nor will it be any more 
successful if it simply regards pedigree without con- 
sidering form. When it duly considers both form 
and pedigree and does not include too much of line 
breeding or of in-and-in breeding, and when, more- 
over, good judgment is shown in the selections, high 
breeding is but another name for wise breeding, and 
is worthy of all consideration. But when it is follow- 
ed practically on the lines of in-and-in breeding, the 
results will be practically the same. 

The Objects of Line Breeding. — The chief ob- 
jects of line breeding are to obtain uniformity of type 
in the stud, herd, or flock, and to maintain the same 



LINE BREEDING. 127 

in these. In other words it is an effort to obtain 
greater average prepotency in the animals. Similar- 
ity of type in the whole herd is at once an evidence of 
prepotency in the parent or parents and a guaranty 
of the same in the offspring. Now this result is 
facilitated by the maintenance of identity or of simi- 
larity of blood in both sexes. This will, of course, 
secure and render permanent certain dominant prop- 
erties. 

But the same end may be obtained though not 
so quickly by carefully selecting males from a line 
bred family. This method of line breeding is consid- 
ered safer than the former and many of those who 
practice it now do so on these lines. But eventually 
it becomes line breeding of the first class rather than 
of the second, where no fresh blood is brought into the 
stud, herd, or flock, through the purchase of females. 
And just here it may be stated that there is a magic 
influence about that word uniformity when applied to 
animal breeding, which is apt to lead the average 
breeder to place too high an estimate upon it. The 
advantages of uniformity depend almost entirely on 
the character of the uniformity. There may be uni- 
formity of a low type as well as uniformity of a high 
type. In breeding, the first is not so desirable as less 
of uniformity of a higher type. It is when the uni- 
formity sought is of a high standard that it is to be 
prized. 

The Evils from Successive Line Breeding. — 
Line breeding is usually beneficial for a time, but it 
should not be carried too far, as there is danger that 
it will intensify defects, as well as useful qualities. 
When it does it becomes so far an evil. Ultimately 
it will produce all the evils consequent upon in-and-in 



128 • ANIMAL BREEDING. 

breeding, though less in degree. These include loss of 
size, delicacy of constitution, impaired powers of re- 
production and gradual deterioration. As these have 
been discussed in Chapter X. they will not be further 
discussed here. It should be noticed, however, that 
some of those evils may be gendered in the system 
before they become markedly apparent. For instance, 
the seeds of increasing delicacy of constitution may 
be sown before they are distinctly apparent, as evi- 
denced by the results that flow from them. The re- 
sults come later. When the evils do appear in a mark- 
ed degree, they have become so incorporated in the 
animals, so much a part of the system, that much loss 
results before they can be corrected by judicious out- 
crossing. In this tendency first to create defects and 
then to transmit them, lies the greatest danger from 
in-and-in breeding and also from line breeding. 

Illustrations of Excessive Line Breeding. — Il- 
lustrations of long continued line breeding are fur- 
nished in the various herds of wild cattle sheltered by 
certain parks in Great Britain during the past cen- 
tury. While at the beginning of the century there 
were at least seven herds, now more than half the 
number are gone, and their total extinction in the not 
distant future is by no means improbable. It would 
seem peculiarly fortunate that illustrations of this 
question are furnished by herds which cover so long a 
a period. Some of them have been kept within the 
inclosed grounds of certain noblemen for more than 
500 years. The most famous of these herds, viz., that 
at Chillingham Park, has been line bred for more 
than seven hundred years. These wild or semi-wild 
cattle have been bred under circumstances the most 
favorable to successful line breeding that could well 



LINE BREEDING. 129 

be imagined. The continuity of sameness in blood- 
lines has not been disturbed by out-crosses. The 
breeding has been from the most vigorous sires, as 
each in turn secured the mastery in the herd. The 
exemption from the enervating influences of domesti- 
cation was most complete, since they were not con- 
fined. They were also supplied with food when 
necessary in winter. And yet, from natural causes, 
these herds are gradually waning in numbers, inso- 
much that it is feared that the extinction of those 
that yet survive is only a question of time. These 
cattle are not prolific, although their surrounding's are 
eminently favorable to prolificacy. Xor are they 
of large size. Is not the conclusion legitimate, there- 
fore, that these results are the outcome of too long 
continued line breeding ? 

The results of the experience of the molders of 
the various leading types of Shorthorns point in the 
same direction. The Collings Bros, inbred closely as 
a rule," though not at the outset, but their practice 
varied. It was they who introduced into their herd 
the Galloway blood, and the resultant fact remains 
that the highest priced animals at their dispersion sale 
were those possessed of this blood. But too much 
should not be made of this fact as the per cent of 
Galloway blood in many of the animals possessing 
it was small indeed. Darwin states that during the 
first thirteen years of breeding at Kirklevington, 
Thomas Bates bred most closely, and during the next 
seventeen years of breeding he made several out- 
crosses, that is, to say, he introduced Shorthorn bulls 
from other herds. It was after he began the introduc- 
tion of these out-crosses that his greatest triumphs 
were made in the showing. During the earlier period 



130 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

of the breeding conducted by the Booths, new blood 
was repeatedly introduced by purchasing females, and 
an occasional out-cross was also made by bringing 
males from other herds, and for a time all went well. 
Later the breeding was closer, with the final outcome 
that it was found necessary to introduce fresh blood 
freely to preserve the high average of excellence in 
these cattle. 

The Cruikshank cattle were much mixed in their 
blood lines during the first decades of the breeding 
conducted at Sittyton, that is to say, many of the 
females brought into the herd from without were 
chosen from various sources and were not specially 
line bred. Later the breeding was more closely in 
line and probably for the reason, among others, that 
by breeding thus, Mr. Cruikshank was the better able 
to reap the fruits which grew out of his great reputa- 
tion as a breeder. The fame which in time came to 
those cattle was doubtless due to the great skill shown 
in the selection of males to use upon females of varied 
breeding. But the herd was dispersed at a period 
too early to show what the outcome would finally have 
been from the closer breeding practiced. The experi- 
ence of those breeders, therefore, as far as it goes, 
is certainly less favorable to long continued line breed- 
ing than to the more promiscuous blending of blood 
elements within the breed. 

Line Breeding Cannot he Carried on Indefinite- 
ly. — From what has been said above it is manifest 
that line breeding cannot be carried on indefinitely 
without sowing the seeds of ultimate deterioration. 
The postponement of the evil day will depend upon 
such conditions as the skill of the breeder, the num- 
bers of the herd or flock, the naturalness, or otherwise, 



LINE BREEDING. 131 

of the conditions of keep, and the management gener- 
ally. 

Of course the more skillful the breeder, the 
greater the number of animals in the herd or flock, 
the more natural the conditions and the more sensible 
the management the less quickly will the evils from 
line breeding too long continued show themselves. 
At least one excellent flock of line bred sheep is now 
in existence into which an out-cross has not been in- 
troduced for about a century. The reference is to the 
famous flock of Border Leicester at Mertoun Lodge in 
Berwickshire, Scotland. But the fact is greatly sig- 
nificant that American purchasers at the present time 
are looking to other flocks not thus line bred when 
making selections. They assign as a reason, that 
while the Mertoun Lodge flock furnishes sires of much 
prepotency, they are somewhat lacking in scale. 

Remedy for Evils from Breeding too Closely. — ■ 
The evils consequent upon line breeding or in-and-in 
breeding too long continued may be remedied in part 
by the judicious introduction of an out-cross or a 
succession of out-crosses, carefully made. The timely 
introduction of the same may be made to ward off 
those evils or to prevent them entirely. That line 
breeding may be made to aid in furnishing prepotent 
sires cannot be questioned and in this fact lies one 
of the strongest arguments for practicing it. That 
a time eventually comes when it ought to be discon- 
tinued even for this purpose is equally true. There 
is decided difficulty, however, in knowing when and 
where to stop, that is, just when and where to intro- 
duce the out-cross. As soon, however, as signs of de- 
terioration in any direction become apparent, they 
should be taken as danger signals calling to the breed- 
er to hal|. 



132 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

When the evils have become at all pronoiineed 
this remedy may work slowly, since the evils may 
have become in a sense dominant. Whether there is 
any way by which the benefits of line breeding in 
the production of sires may be secured continuously 
without gendering the evils complained of does not 
yet appear to have been demonstrated. Possibly it 
would be practicable to draw sires, for a time, from 
a line bred family, and at the same time to have 
another line bred family coming from which sires 
could be chosen later. Such breeding would, however, 
encounter two difficulties, viz. : That the period cov- 
ered by the breeding of the average individual is too 
short for such a demonstration, and the results from 
the males of the second line bred family would be un- 
certain until proved. With all the merit that line 
breeding possesses it must be acknowledged that it is 
a steed which breeders cannot always control to their 
satisfaction. 

An Out-cross Defined. — An out-cross may be de- 
fined as the use of a sire of unrelated blood upon 
females of the same breed that have been bred in line 
or that are in-and-in bred, but it may also mean cross- 
ing high grade or pure bred females with a male of 
another breed. It is only in the former sense that 
it will be discussed in the present chapter. Unre- 
lated blood, if healthy and vigorous, infuses fresh 
vigor into the stocks upon which it has been crossed. 
The reasons for this increase of vigor are not well 
understood, but it has been noticed that it is frequent- 
ly greater when the animals used in making the out- 
cross have been brought from places wide apart, and 
when the conditions such as relate to climate and 
prod^tion are different. Thus it is that Shorthorn 



LINE BREEDING. 1'33 

blood brought from Britain seems to have a renovat- 
ing influence on herds in this country though not 
bred in line, ami probably the same would be true of 
Shorthorn blood exported from the United States to 
Britain. This would seem to be akin to the renova- 
tion which in many instances comes through the in- 
troduction of the seeds of plants from outside sources. 
But it would not be correct to say that all such 
changes with animals or plants bring renovation. 

Benefits from Introducing an Out-cross. — The 
benefits which flow from increased vigor the result 
of an out-cross include: 1. An increase of size and 
flesh-forming qualities ; 2. An increase of milk pro- 
duction ; 3. Increased productivity ; and 4. Extended 
longevity. These benefits are virtually the opposites 
of the evils created by too close breeding and too long 
continued. They grow out of that upward, onward 
stimulus which increased vigor brings along with it, 
and which extends to every part of the system. Thus 
it is that prize winning animals are so frequently 
found in the earlier progeny from out-crosses. 

Animals Long Line Bred Produce few Speci- 
mens of Highest Excellence. — While animals long 
bred in line or in-and-in bred may produce an oc- 
casional specimen of high excellence, they do not 
produce nearly so many of these as pure bred animals 
of what may be termed mixed breeding. Such has 
been the record written on the page of history in the 
breeding of Shorthorns for the past one hundred 
years. Xo class of Shorthorn cattle have been line 
bred to a greater extent than certain of the Bates 
families. They have been in the hands of many skill- 
ful breeders, and yet the prize winners from such 
herds have not been relatively numerous for the past 



134 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

fifty years. But, when those cattle have been judicious- 
ly crossed by Cruikshank males, the results have been 
of the most satisfactory character. The progeny of 
these out-crosses stand high in favor in the herd, in 
the show ring and on the block. That mixed breed- 
ing, or, as it is sometimes termed, "natural breeding," 
when judiciously conducted will produce a high per- 
centage of excellent animals has been clearly demon- 
strated in the Grasmere herd already referred to (see 
page 109). The fact only can be stated here. 

Out-crosses Should be Made Cautiously. — Out- 
crosses should be introduced with much care lest the 
variations resulting should be in a different direction 
from what was intended. The prepotency even of a 
vigorous animal cannot be measured definitely by 
conjecture. When these out-crosses are made they 
should be made in a tentative way, that is to say, in 
about the same manner as sires are tested to judge 
of their prepotency. They should be mated with only 
a few females until the results of the out-cross are 
apparent in the progeny. When these are quite favor- 
able those sires should then be used freely on the 
herd and for as long a period as may be judicious. 



CHAPTER XII. 



FECUNDITY. 



The relation between the breeding properties 
of animals that are kept for breeding and the profits 
arising therefrom is both intimate and close. No 
sooner has an animal reached the proper age for 
breeding when kept for that purpose, than the relative 
profit from keeping it grows less than it would other- 
wise be, every day that it is kept subsequently with- 
out discharging, at least in reasonable degree, the 
breeding function. And this is more especially true 
of animals that are kept chiefly for the milk that they 
furnish. It is greatly important, therefore, that 
every attention shall be given by those who keep do- 
mestic animals to the maintenance of a high standard 
in productivity in the stud, herd, or flock. 

Fecundity Defined. — Fecundity means the qual- 
ity of bringing forth offspring freely, regularly, and 
in many instances abundantly. It means about the 
same thing as prolificacy when the latter is applied 
to animal breeding, but prolificacy is the broader term 
and therefore has a wider range of application. Fe- 
cundity has reference to frequency in reproduction 
as well as to the numbers produced. Of course, in 
those classes of animals which produce but one at 
a birth, it can -only have reference to frequency and 
regularity in production. In such instances the most 
fecund animals will be those which produce the most 
freely and regularly from the time that breeding 



136 



ANIMAL BREEDING, 




FECUNDITY. 137 

should begin. But when more than one is produced at 
a birth, the most fecund animals will be those that 
produce the most freely and regularly, and that bring 
forth most numerously at each season of parturition. 
It will be noticed that this property is the attribute of 
females only, but it is doubtless influenced more or 
less by the males used in service. It differs from 
fertility in that it has reference to the numbers pro- 
duced rather than to the ability to produce. Fertility 
is of varying degrees, but an animal that is susceptible 
of impregnation is fertile. It is the opposite of 
sterility and barrenness in females. Females that 
breed irregularly and infrequently are commonly 
spoken of as shy breeders, and males that are unable to 
beget are spoken of as impotent. 

Influences that Affect Reproduction. — The re- 
productive powers of animals are much influenced by 
changes in their surroundings and habits and by the 
modes of life to which they are subjected. All such 
changes as tend to equalize conditions are favorable 
to reproduction. For instance, when regular supplies 
of food supplant those where food has been in excess 
a part of the year and insufficient another portion of 
the same, the influence on productivity is favorable, 
and so of all other influences that tend to equalize. 
Regularity even in the habit of breeding tends to 
perpetuate such regularity. But the results are ad- 
verse when the changes in themselves are unfavorable 
to the healthy action of the system. The African 
ostrich, for instance, has been transplanted to certain 
other countries -where the surroundings are considered 
less favorable than in South Africa, and with the 
result that there has been a decrease in productivity. 
The influences that affect productivity favorably and 



138 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

adversely are much the same as those that affect fe- 
cundity similarly, and they are given below. 

Influences that Affect Fecundity Adversely. — 
The following are chief among the influences that 
affect fecundity adversely: 1. Confinement and lack 
of exercise. 2. Irregular supplies of food and lack 
of uniformity in conditions. 3. Food lacking in suc- 
culence or containing too much sugar. 4. A plethoric 
condition of the system. 5. Meager milk production. 
And 6, In-and-in breeding, line breeding, close breed- 
ing, excessive breeding, and in some instances hered- 
ity. These influences may act singly or more or less 
in conjunction. The more they act in conjunction 
the more adversely will they influence fecundity. 
They will now be considered somewhat in detail. 

Influence of Confinement on Fecundity. — Fe- 
cundity is affected adversely by confinement and the 
lack of exercise which confinement brings with it. 
This may be shown in various ways. It is seen in 
the relative frequency of impotency in males and of 
barrenness in females among domestic animals that 
have been much confined. To so great an extent has 
this fact been recognized by breeders that they invari- 
ably adopt some measures whereby such exercise can 
be obtained for breeding animals. Paddocks are 
provided for those which may not usually run with 
the females, and pastures of more or less extent are 
provided for females which must needs be kept on the 
soiling system. Devices are sometimes resorted to 
which shall compel the animals to take exercise, as, 
for instance, when bulls and stallions are made to 
work. In the human family the relation between 
a life of labor or the opposite on reproduction is 
sharply drawn. Large families are usually found 
only among the classes who toil. 



FECUNDITY. 139 

It is seen in the impaired or destroyed powers of 
reproduction in wild animals when deprived of their 
liberty and in the inability of their offspring to breed. 
Animals once wild and confined, as in a menagerie, 
breed very shyly and when they do, in but few in- 
stances beyond the first generation. The males be- 
come impotent and the females barren. The same 
principle has also been demonstrated, as stated by 
Darwin, in certain experiments conducted with fowls 
in France. These were given different degrees of 
liberty. The fecundity increased with the increase 
of liberty given to the fowls, at least, up to a certain 
limit. 

Influence of Food Supplies and of Conditions on 
Fecundity. — Irregular supplies of food and lack of 
uniformity in conditions affect fecundity adversely. 
This has been shown in the shy breeding qualities 
of the Spanish Merino sheep in its native country 
as compared with the same in other lands. In Spain 
prior to the present century the traveling flocks were 
oftentimes on short supplies, especially when journey- 
ing to and from the mountains. The conditions other- 
wise were uneven, as, for instance, when exposed to 
adverse weather. When those sheep were first brought 
to the United States their want of fecundity was dis- 
tinctly noticeable. Since that time their breeding 
qualities have improved, especially on arable farms 
where they can be given regular supplies of suitable 
food and subjected to fairly uniform conditions. On 
the western ranges not only Merinos but also other 
breeds of sheep breed more shyly than when suitably 
cared for on the farm. It is also shown in the less 
prolific character of the mountain breeds of sheep 
as compared with those of the lower land. 



140 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

It would not be easy to give statistics that would 
form a just comparison, hut the fact has been noticed 
to the extent of being commonly recognized by those 
who are acquainted with sheep husbandry. The 
reasons for the less fecundity of the mountain breeds 
are very similar to those which explain the same in 
range flocks. It is further shown in the greater 
fecundity of domesticated animals as compared with 
the same when wild, as instanced in pigeons, geese, 
and ducks, rabbits, dog's, swine, and other animals. 
Some varieties of pigeons breed but twice a year in 
a wild condition, and when domesticated the same 
varieties will breed much oftener. Swine seldom 
breed in the wild state and produce but few at a 
litter. Under domestication they may be made to pro- 
duce litters regularly twice a year and of about twice 
the number in each litter produced by the wild 
species. The increase in the prolificacy of tame rab- 
bits as compared with wild ones is even more marked. 

Influence of Nutrition on Fecundity. — Nutri- 
tion materially affects the activity of reproduction, 
since it supplies the organs of the latter with materials 
concerned in its operations. If these materials are in- 
sufficient or unsuitable the generative powers suffer 
accordingly. Sometimes there is a certain degree of 
antagonism between the nutritive and generative func- 
tions, the one operating unduly at the expense of the 
other. This antagonism always exists more or less 
when the normal equilibrium of suitable conditions 
is disturbed, and this will probably be true let the 
disturbance arise from whatsoever cause it may. It 
may not always be easily possible to tell just where 
this equilibrium lies. It is to be gathered from cumu- 
lative experience and observation. Any excess in the 



FECUNDITY. • 141 

nutritive activity of the system acts prejudicially on 
the powers of reproduction as shown in the partial or 
total sterility of fat animals, over-luxuriant plants 
and nut bearing trees. Animals that have been made 
excessively fat for show purposes are usually indiffer- 
ent breeders. To so great an extent has this fact 
come to be recognized that it affects their sale adverse- 
ly for breeding uses. Many of them breed irregular- 
ly, and produce progeny lacking in size and stamina 
at birth or do not breed at all. But poor breeding 
qualities are less frequently found in show animals 
kept in uniformly high condition from birth than in 
those subjected to alternations of high and low con- 
ditions. 

In over-luxuriant plants and nut bearing trees 
the energies of the plant and of the tree are so con- 
centrated in the production of stems and leaves in the 
one case, and of wood in the other, that little or no 
fruit is produced. The opposite is also true, namely, 
that any marked deficiencies in nutrition impair and 
hinder breeding properties and in some instances de- 
stroy them altogether. This finds ample illustration 
in the decline of life. The nutritive processes weaken 
with advancing age till at length these cannot sustain 
the generative function in the male or the reproduc- 
tive function in the female, until impotency is pro- 
duced in the former and sterility in the latter. Cer- 
tain forms of disease lead to similar results, more 
especially those forms which seriously impair the nu- 
tritive function. The intimate relation between 
abundant food- supplies and the judicious feeding of 
the same may be further illustrated in various ways. 

Cows regularly supplied with enough suitable 
food will breed at almost any season of the vear. 



142 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

Those kept on innutritions food in the winter and on 
good pastures in summer will mate only in the sum- 
mer after the grasses have become plentiful. During 
the winter while on innutritious and dry food, the 
whole system languishes including the generative 
function. The rich and abundant pastures stimulate 
the whole being of the animal including the organs of 
reproduction. They at once become active. 

Flockmasters have found that when ewes whose 
lambs have been weaned are put upon rich pastures 
they breed more quickly than when on poor pastures, 
and when the pasture is supplemented with some 
stimulating grain food, as barley or wheat, the ten- 
dencies to breed quickly are intensified. The func- 
tion of breeding shares in the renovation of the sys- 
tem, hence, the stimulus given to the breeding impulse 
which leads to early mating. In this way more uni- 
formity is secured in the time when the lambs are 
dropped and more lambs are produced. The bearing 
of suitable food, when suitably fed, on increased fe- 
cundity is thus very clearly shown. The wisdom of 
feeding 'females liberal supplies of nutritious food 
when reduced in flesh through nursing their young 
when it is desired to have them breed quickly again 
will be at once apparent, as also the necessity for feed- 
ing males similarly when preparing them for active 
and prolonged service. 

Stallions in charge of intelligent grooms are thus 
prepared for the service of the mating season. When 
males are much used in service they also require lib- 
eral nourishment. This explains why intelligent 
stockmen feed nourishing and suitable food freely to 
their sires during any seasons of breeding in which 
the instances of mating are frequent. It has been 



FECUNDITY. 143 

noticed that such treatment has a marked influence on 
ability to beget as well as upon increased numbers in 
the progeny begotten when more than one is produced 
at a birth. 

Influence of the Quality of the Food on Fecund- 
ity. — The quality of the food exercises an important 
influence on fecundity. A large proportion of sugar 
in the same injures the reproductive functions. This 
arises, in part, at least, from the abundance of carbo- 
hydrate elements in such food. When fed in large 
quantities and for a prolonged period it also tends 
to cloy the appetite. Foods rich in sugar stand in 
high favor with many who prepare animals for ex- 
hibition. For such a use sugar is frequently fed 
in the pure form and it has been noticed that when 
thus fed freely to young animals their breeding pow- 
ers are affected adversely, and the general tone of the 
system likewise suffers more or less. 

A dry dietary is unfavorable to impregnation, 
and a rich, juicy and succulen; vegetation is favorable 
to the same. A diet unduly lacking in succulence, as, 
for instance, hay long stored, is unfavorable to repro- 
duction when fed alone. Such a diet tends to induce 
a constipated condition of the digestion and the breed- 
ing powers suffer in consequence. When, in addition 
to the dryness, the nutritive quality of the food is low, 
as when straw constitutes the food, the outcome is still 
more adverse to breeding. This explains why seasons 
of extraordinary drouth are unfavorable to fe- 
cundity. The grasses are both dry and innutritions. 
It is easily possible, however, to feed foods too suc- 
culent to get the best results from breeding. In sea- 
sons of excessive rainfall the grasses though abundant 
are not sufficiently nutritious, and not infrequently 



144 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

they keep the bowels in a condition too lax. Foods 
rich, juicy and succulent are favorable to free and 
regular breeding. Kichness in food furnishes the 
needed nutrition, juiciness tempts the appetite, and 
when the foods are also succulent they act beneficially 
on the digestion. A fresh Dwarf Essex Rape pasture 
well matured, furnishes an excellent instance of a 
single food possessing all these properties in a marked 
degree. 

A carbonaceous diet is also unfavorable to fe- 
cundity, while a nitrogenous diet is favorable. The 
carbonaceous diet tends to produce fat and heat, while 
the foetus during development is more in need of mus- 
cular sustenance. This is obtained from the elements 
of a diet nitrogenous in character. Brood sows reared 
on-a corn diet are shy breeders. When fed on the 
same during pregnancy the pigs are likely to be small 
and deficient in vigor at birth, and the danger is im- 
minent that the sow may have trouble in farrowing. 
In the distinct corn belt such a diet has diminished 
the fecundity of swine. 

A Plethoric Condition Diminishes Fecundity. — 
Diminished fecundity may arise from a plethoric con- 
dition of the system. Such a condition is accom- 
panied by overloading with flesh, which begets sluggish 
tendencies in the whole being unfavorable to repro- 
duction. It may also arise from congestion and in- 
flammation in the organs concerned in procreation, in- 
duced or at least aggravated by these influences. The 
correctives for the first are, active exercise even 
though enforced, and a diminished diet, but the deple- 
tion of the system should be gradual. In this way 
the breeding powers of males that have become im- 
potent and females barren through over high fitting 



FECUNDITY. 145 

for the shows have been restored. When organic dis- 
ease, however, is present in either of the forms named 
or in other forms, the most skillful treatment will 
often fail to remove the same. 

When the Breeding Powers are Most Active. — 
The breeding powers are most active when animals 
are in what may be termed moderate condition as 
to flesh, and in the meridian of vigor. A marked ten- 
dency to lay on fat is frequently accompanied by a 
delicacy of condition and a diminished secretion of 
milk, as well as by a loss of fecundity. The first 
comes from the sluggishness which it induces. The 
second results from the energies of the system being 
too much concentrated in the opposite direction, that 
is, in the production of milk. And the third is the 
outcome of the antagonistic influence of these causes 
acting in conjunction. When breeding is rendered 
impossible, as by castration or spaying, the tendency 
to lay on fat is increased. This arises from the more 
restful habits of castrated or spayed animals and from 
the less extent to which the energies of the system are 
divided. The moment that either operation takes 
place the generative function no longer requires to be 
sustained. Nor is milk production any longer, usually, 
possible in females. Castration and spaying are fur- 
ther discussed in Chapter XXIX. 

Sterility in Fat Animals. — The immediate cause 
of sterility in fat animals frequently rests in what 
may be termed fatty degeneration. It is caused by 
the conversion of the albuminous or gelatinous mate- 
rials of the tissues of the reproductive organs into fat. 
While in that condition reproduction is impossible. 
In other instances the tubes in females that convey 
the seminal fluid to the ovum fail to do so, they are 



146 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

so filled with fatty matter, hence impregnation cannot 
take place, howsoever vigorous the male may be. The 
mistake, however, must not be made, that a fat con- 
dition of the animals is essentially incompatible with 
the ability to breed, since both males and females have 
gone through years of successful exhibiting without 
ceasing to breed with normal certainty. In such in- 
stances, however, the animals have been high fleshed 
from the beginning and have been subjected to much 
uniformity of treatment. But the progeny, notwith- 
standing, are not often the equal of the parents in 
vigor or individuality. Long continued succession 
in the generations of great prize winners, at least in 
animals kept for meat, has never occurred. 

The Relation Between Milk Production and Re- 
production. — There is an intimate relation between 
the milk producing powers and those of reproduction. 
This is owing, in part at, least, to the dependence of 
milk secretion on the mammary glands. These in 
turn are under the direct influence of the breeding 
organs, or they sympathize very closely with them, 
hence animals Avhich breed with the least difficulty 
and which produce the most healthy and vigorous off- 
spring, usually yield the best supplies of milk among 
animals of that particular type. The logical conclu- 
sions from these premises are, first, that it is quite 
possible in mjeat-producing animals to reduce the 
milk-giving function below 7 what would be for the 
best results in breeding, and for the best maintenance 
of the progeny, and second, that mere selection in 
dairy herds based on abundant milk-giving should of 
itself improve the breeding qualities of the animals 
of the herd. Regular breeding in meat-producing 
herds or flocks will therefore exist in the most marked 



FECUNDITY. 147 

degree when no little attention is given to the reten- 
tion of milking qualities in the females. But in 
dairy herds it would be possible to so stimulate the 
milk-giving function as to react injuriously on the 
whole animal by reducing its vigor and consequently 
injuring both the breeding and milk-giving functions. 
These results however are not of frequent occurrence. 

The proper sustenance of the animal during 
gestation has also an important bearing on milk giv- 
ing and consequently on subsequent reproduction. 
Many fear to keep the pregnant animal in a good 
condition of flesh during the period of pregnancy, lest 
there should be trouble at parturition. Such a fear 
is groundless, providing the food producing the flesh 
has been duly succulent and has had in it a sufficient 
proportion of protein. It is a mistake to have animals 
thin in flesh, beyond a certain limit, when they bring 
forth their young. It is not fair to the progeny 
before birth and it will react against abundant milk- 
giving. 

If a female is low in flesh when her progeny is 
born she is dependent entirely on food supplies for 
the milk that she gives. If she is in a good condition 
of flesh when her progeny is born she has a residuum 
of milk-producing materials stored up in her own 
body which in due time is turned into milk. This ex- 
plains why a brood sow in good flesh when her large 
litter of young are born is usually thin by the time 
they are ready to wean. When the dam is low in 
flesh at parturition the drain upon the energies that 
follows reduces 'her vigor. This reduction of vigor 
extends to the assimilative powers, hence she remains 
low in flesh during the milk giving period. The 
breeding powers through sympathy are also enervated, 
hence time is lost before the animal can be bred again. 



148 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

Tfie Influences of Over-Breeding ajul of Hered- 
ity on Fecundity. — The term over-breeding is used 
here to mean breeding excessively, that is to say, 
breeding from relatives so close that injurious results 
follow. It also means breeding too young and too 
frequently. Reference has already been made to the 
adverse influence which in-and-in breeding, line breed- 
ing, and close breeding have on fecundity. (See 
Chapters X and XI.) Immature breeding produces 
results similar in kind and usually even more quick- 
ly. When at all excessive it tends not only to reduce 
stamina, and to weaken seriously if not indeed to 
destroy the generative functions. 

Force a young child to walk before its limbs have 
strength enough to support it, and the limbs become 
weak and unshapely. Encourage it to tax the brain 
unduly at too young an age and the clanger is im- 
minent that it will become a physical and probably a 
mental wreck. So when a sire is used in breeding 
at too young an age the whole being of the same is 
injured, including the generative organs. And when 
a female is bred too young, normal size in her is 
not likely ever to be reached. When she is bred too 
frequently the stamina of both the dam and progeny 
suffers. The latter always suffer when the dam has 
been bred excessively. In many lines live stock has 
thus suffered from excessive breeding during recent 
years. 

But the greatest mistakes have probably been 
made by dairymen in breeding heifers too young, 
by some swine growers in breeding sows too early 
and by the growers of beef and mntton in the extent 
to which young sires have been used. The first have 
to some extent been influenced by the desire to estab- 



FECUNDITY. 149 

lish the habit of milk-giving in the young female so 
that the energies of the system would be encouraged 
to concentrate in that direction. The second have 
sought profit in trying to reduce the duration of the 
rearing period prior to the time of reproducing, and 
the third have been influenced by the low price at 
which old males must be sold when they cannot longer 
be used in the herd. All have erred. Good breeders 
are opposed to breeding sows so as to reproduce under 
the age of twelve months, and to produce twice a 
year, to breeding ewes under the age of nineteen 
months, and to using young males with much fre- 
quency until they are quite beyond the age at which 
they become capable of begetting. But the age at 
which animals may be used in breeding depends some- 
what upon the individuality of the same, as, for in- 
stance, on the development and vigor, hence no cast 
iron rules can be framed that will equally apply to 
every case. But there can be no question of the 
wisdom of not allowing males to run with females, as 
a rule, at the mating season, lest the energies of 
the latter shall be taxed to no purpose by excessive 
service. 

Heredity will influence the breeding qualities 
of animals favorably or otherwise according to the 
breeding qualities of the ancestry* The assumption 
is no doubt correct that fecundity is quite as much 
a matter of inheritance as of form. This has been 
repeatedly demonstrated in the practice of breeding. 
When it is desirable, therefore, to increase the fe- 
cundity, much care should be taken to choose both 
males and females from families which have been 
free producers. Free production is probably as much 
dependent on heredity as on food supplies in the 



150 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

ordinary operations of the breeder. The proper selec- 
tion of breeding stock will therefore have much in- 
fluence upon the rate of increase in a flock or herd. 

Heredity not only influences fecundity as such, 
but it may also be made to exercise a powerful influ- 
ence on the season of breeding. Under normal con- 
ditions grade ewes of mixed breeding drop their 
lambs in the spring. In experiments conducted by 
the author at the Minnesota University Experiment 
Station, the breeding habit has been so changed in the 
first generation of the female progeny, that a large 
percentage of them, when bred, dropped lambs in 
the autumn, that is to say, between the end of Septem- 
ber and the close of the year. In a few instances 
females of the first cross dropped lambs in September. 
But those lambs were not of the first birth. Pure 
bred Dorset sires were used, and the change in 'the 
time of breeding already noted was unquestionably 
due to inheritance from them, although it was influ- 
enced to some extent by the food given to the dams. 

Relation Between Size in Animals and Fe- 
cundity. — There is a marked relation between the 
size of animals and fecundity throughout the animal 
kingdom. The smaller species breed more frequent- 
ly, more numerously, and at an earlier age. Cattle 
breed but once a year and produce but one at a birth. 
Swine breed twice a year and produce several at a 
birth. Belgian hares breed many times a year and 
also produce several at a birth. This may be owing 
in part to the modifying influence of the nutritive 
functions, but it would seem to be owing more to the 
inherent original constitution bestowed upon the dif- 
ferent species. While, as has been shown, fecundity 
may be influenced favorably in various ways, there is 



FECUNDITY. 151 

a limit to the possibilities of such influence. The 
cow could never be made to produce as the sow does, 
nor the ewe as the female Belgian hare. 

Freemartins Usually Ban-en. — When a male 
and a female are produced at one birth, the barren- 
ness of one has only been observed in the progeny of 
bovines. The female is generally barren. Such fe- 
males are called "freemartins." It is only among 
bovines that this peculiarity occurs, and it is confined 
to instances in which one of the pair is a female and 
the other a male. The male would seem as able to 
beget as males ordinarily are. In rare instances the 
females also breed. The primary reasons for this 
peculiarity are as yet unexplained. The internal 
generative organs of the female partake somewhat of 
the nature of those of the male. This explains the 
immediate cause of the barrenness, but no light is 
forthcoming as to the cause of such inheritance. 



CHAPTEK XIII. 



\ 

THE RELATIVE INFLUENCE OF PARENTS. 



No question pertaining to breeding has given 
rise to more controverted opinions than that which 
relates to the relative influence of parents as male and 
female, in determining the characteristics of the off- 
spring. Many have claimed, and with, much positive- 
ness, that certain characters are derived chiefly from 
the male and certain other characters are derived 
chiefly from the female. But, since there is not much 
agreement between the leading advocates of these 
theories, even when the same in some leading essen- 
tials, and since the arguments presented in support of 
them are chiefly of a negative character, they fall 
short of incontrovertible demonstration. 

The Relative Influence of Parents in Breeding 
Defined. — By the relative influence of parents in 
breeding is meant the influence which they exert as 
male or female in determining the character of the 
progeny. It differs from prepotency in drawing the 
contrast between the influence of the parents as male 
and female in determining transmitted characters, 
whereas prepotency has a regard to the influence ex- 
erted by either parent without inquiring as to whether 
any peculiarities of transmission belong to one sex 
or the other. And it may be mentioned here that if 
the contention were true that one parent because of its 
sex influences certain features of transmission, then 
such transmission would be a disturbing factor an- 



THE RELATIVE INFLUENCE OF PARENTS. 153 

tagonistic at least in some instances to prepotency. 
Such disturbance would complicate the laws that 
govern transmission to such an extent as to seriously 
hinder successful breeding. At the outset, therefore, 
it would seem improbable that influences so antagonis- 
tic should inhere in the same animals. 

Sex Alone Does Not Affect Transmissive Pow- 
er. — Much of what will be said in the remaining por- 
tion of this chapter will have a bearing on the affir- 
mation just made. The correctness of any theory that 
would assign a greater relative influence to one parent 
as such in determining the characteristics of the off- 
spring has not as yet been established. It has been 
claimed that there is a preponderance in resemblance 
in the offspring to the male parent. It has also been 
claimed that there is a preponderance in resemblance 
to the female parent. But more commonly both 
claims have reference to certain characters in the 
progeny rather than to the whole being, otherwise 
•their absurdity would be so manifest that it would 
not be necessary to consider them. Some have said 
that the male parent transmits certain features of 
form, function, or of disposition, while others have 
said that the female parent transmits like properties. 
But the theory that the male parent exerts on the 
whole the greater influence because it is a male has 
long been popular. That it does exert the greater 
influence, on the whole, is true, as will be shown be- 
low, but not in virtue of its sex. Were it true that this 
greater influence was exerted because of its sex, there 
would not be so many instances in which there is a 
preponderance in resemblance to the female. 

In the human family children very frequently 
resemble the mother more than the father in form, 



154 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

in features and in mental powers. This preponder- 
ance in resemblance to the female parent among do- 
mestic animals is also frequent, though not so fre- 
quent relatively as in the human family, and for 
the reason that in the latter there is no selection in 
breeding as with domestic animals, hence the average 
female is likely to be as prepotent as the average 
male. 

Why the Male Parent Exerts the Greater In- 
fluence in Transmission. — The theory that the male 
parent exerts the greater influence in virtue of its sex 
has arisen probably from the greater number of in- 
stances, in which, in breeding domestic animals a 
preponderance of resemblance may be traced to the 
male parent. But this may be owing first, to the 
greater care used ordinarily in breeding males, which 
renders them more prepotent, and to the greater pains 
taken in choosing them, and, second, to the larger num- 
ber of the progeny relatively tracing to one male. 
Males are usually more purely bred than females, 
and they are usually possessed of a greater average 
individual vigor. They are in consequence more 
prepotent than females as shown in Chapter IX. It 
could not be otherwise then, but that the resemblance 
to the males would preponderate in each of the indi- 
vidual progeny. And since the progeny of one male 
is in nearly all instances in practical breeding much 
more numerous than the progeny of each female, the 
sum of the resemblance in the progeny to the male 
is greater than the sum of the same to all the females 
combined. 

The Offspring Resemble Most the Parent Most 
Highly Bred. — The probability is strong that there 
will be a preponderance in resemblance to the parent 



THE RELATIVE INFLUENCE OF PARENTS. 155 

most highly bred, whether male or female. It has 
been shown above why the progeny more frequently 
resemble the male. But suppose the conditions of 
choice were reversed, that is to say, that more pains 
were taken in breeding and choosing females, then it 
would doubtless follow that in the progeny of each 
female there would be more of resemblance to the 
female than to the male parent. This is well brought 
out in crossing a well established breed with one but 
recently established, and in mating a pure bred with 
an animal of mixed breeding. 

If a male chosen from a well established breed 
is mated with a female of a breed but recently estab- 
lished, other things being equal, there will be a pre- 
ponderance of resemblance in the progeny to the male 
parent. Reverse the process and there will be a 
preponderance in resemblance to the female parent. 
Both results are due to the greater potency of the 
breed that has been long established. Similarly, if 
a pure bred male is mated with a female of mixed 
breeding, there will be more of resemblance in the 
progeny to the male. Reverse the process and there 
will be more of resemblance in the progeny to the 
female. Both results are due to the greater potency of 
pure blood as compared with that from mixed blood. 
Ordinarily therefore the progeny will bear the closer 
resemblance to the parent of the more ancient lineage 
in the one instance, and to that of the purest breeding 
in the other. But there may be some exceptions for 
reasons that will now be given. 

Unexpected Variations in Transmission. — Al- 
though the predominant influence of the best bred 
parent is the rule in transmission, the intensity of 
other conditions may. interfere so as to produce unex- 



156 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

pected variations. For instance, where high breed- 
ing is practiced, with reference to securing a single 
quality only, or a limited number of desirable qual- 
ities, in securing these strength and constitution may 
have been so neglected as to result in transmission 
that is variable. Much depends upon the strength 
and constitution of each parent, as well as upon 
the composition of the blood. Under normal condi- 
tions the best bred parent would almost certainly 
transmit a preponderance in properties to the off- 
spring. But a weakened constitution, sometimes at 
least and generally, weakens potency in transmission. 
Diminished strength of constitution including present 
vigor may therefore tend to counteract potency in 
transmission, the result of pure breeding. The an- 
tagonism may become so strong even, that its influence 
in producing variation may be stronger than that of 
good breeding in perpetuating likeness in transmis- 
sion. It is possible, therefore, that in many instances 
as much depends upon the strength and constitution 
of each parent as upon the composition of the blood. 

This variableness in transmission may arise, in 
part at least, from the inheritance of variable charac- 
ters represented in the ancestral line, and it may be 
that impaired vigor enables these to assert themselves 
in a way which would be hardly possible where much 
vigor is present, since the latter probably would prove 
a controlling influence running counter to them. 
Whatever may be said of the explanation, the fact 
remains, that in both sexes, animals possessing blood 
precisely similar have shown a marked difference in 
their powers of transmission, whether male or female. 

The Influence of Age on Transmission. — The 
ability of either parent as male or female in trans- 



THE RELATIVE INFLUENCE OF PARENTS. 157 

mitting characteristics to the progeny is to some ex- 
tent influenced by old age and consequently by bodily 
vigor. As the bodily vigor of an animal decreases 
with advancing age, its prepotency in many instances 
would seem to suffer more or less. In such instances 
the decrease in prepotency is charged up to a 
decrease in bodily vigor. As this decrease in bodily 
vigor will affect alike male and female, it follows that 
it will affect the ability of either to transmit char- 
acters. If it were true therefore that sex as such 
were capable of certain kinds of transmission, because 
of sex, advancing age with its decrease in bodily 
vigor would step in and form a disturbing factor, that 
is to say, an animal declining in vigor would have 
less power than one of the opposite sex in the zenith 
of bodily vigor, to transmit properties when mated 
with the same. Such mating would therefore so far 
disturb transmission in virtue of the sex, if such trans- 
mission did exist. But advancing old age and dimin- 
ished' bodily vigor are not always accompanied by 
diminished prepotency, as in some instances animals 
deficient in strength and vigor are highly prepotent. 
Such transmission is oftentimes readily apparent in 
the progeny of animals with an inclination to certain 
diseases or already suffering from the same. In this 
fact lies the great hazard in breeding from pure bred 
animals deficient in these qualities. 

Transmission When Prepotency is Not Marked. 
• — When there is no marked prepotency on the part 
of either parent it has been claimed that the male 
offspring frequently resemble the sire and the female 
offspring the dam. Such resemblances have been no- 
ticed in the transmission of disease. Carefully gath- 
ered statistics have shown, as quoted by Miles, that in 



158 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

a certain number of cases of consumption and also of 
insanity, the instances of inheritance of these respec- 
tive diseases from the male parent were more numer- 
ous in males, and of inheritance of the same from the 
female parent were more numerous in females. 

This would seem to favor the view that it is pos- 
sible for a male or a female in virtue of its sex to 
transmit certain peculiarities to the progeny. But 
the force of such an argument is greatly weakened 
by what is said in the succeeding paragraph, that is 
to say, by the power of transmission which one sex 
sometimes possesses to transmit peculiarities which 
affect only the other sex. The principle involved, 
however, tends to emphasize the importance of careful 
selection in the sires introduced into the stud, herd 
or flock. 

Transmission of Peculiarities Through the Op- 
posite Sex. — Instances are not infrequent wherein 
disease and other peculiarities are limited to one sex 
and transmitted by the other. This has already been 
referred to in Chapter VII., but will now be further 
enlarged upon, because of its bearing on the subject 
that is being discussed. Such transmission has been 
observed in the inheritance of certain forms of ichthy- 
osis. There have been instances in which the disease 
was confined to one sex and transmitted through the 
other, that is to say, it would affect only males though 
transmitted by females in which it was not apparent. 
But the opposite of this has happened with the same 
forms of disease, that is to say, the disease was appar- 
ent only in females though inherited from males. It 
has been observed in the inheritance of a tendency 
to obesity when only one sex will be thus affected. 
But as with the inheritance of skin diseases, such 



THE RELATIVE INFLUENCE OF PARENTS 159 

a tendency has at one time manifested itself in one 
sex, at another time in the opposite sex, and in yet 
other instances the transmission is variable and mix- 
ed. 

It has also been observed in the influence of the 
dairy sire in transmitting form and functional activ- 
ity to the udder of the same. It is claimed, however, 
that such transmission is more marked when the 
females are grades. This is just what may be looked 
for, and it is doubtless the outcome of that greater 
prepotency which a pure bred sire has when mated 
with a female of mixed breeding. The greater pre- 
potency of the male affects the whole organism of the 
female though of the opposite sex. Nor has it been 
proved to a demonstration that one sex as male or fe- 
male has the power of transmitting those peculiarities 
in a greater degree than the other. And the whole 
question is still further obscured by the preponderance 
in resemblance to one parent which is observable at 
one period of development, and to the other parent at 
another period of development. 

Theories Regarding Transmission by Parents as 
Male and Female. — Various theories have been ad- 
vanced to the effect that in generation the male prog- 
eny determines the character of certain organs, and 
also of other features of the organization, and that 
the female parent likewise determines the nature of 
yet other features and characteristics of the organiza- 
tion. Chief among those theories are the following: 

1. That the male parent influences chiefly the 
external characters of the offspring and the female the 
internal characters of the same. According to this 
theory the male parent chiefly determines the nature 
of the bony framework, its covering and locomotion, 



160 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

and consequently its appearance, while the female 
parent chiefly determines the internal structures, as 
the vital and digestive organs, thus controlling very 
largely the stamina and growth of the animal. Such 
propagation is done as it were in parts, one parent 
determining certain characters of the organization 
and the other parent determining other characters of 
the same. 

2. That one parent will chiefly determine the 
character of the forehead and organs of sense along 
with the vital and nutritive organs, while the other 
parent chiefly determines the character of the back of 
the head and also the locomotive organs. This theory 
claims also that which parent will produce these pe- 
culiarities will depend somewhat on sameness of 
blood, difference in blood, and closeness of relation- 
ship. 

3. That propagation is clone, as it were, by halves, 
that is to say, that each parent gives to the offspring 
the shape of one half of the body more or less. Ac- 
cording to this theory as propounded by certain of 
its advocates the male parent generally determines 
the character of the back, loins and hind-quarters, the 
size, skin and general shape, while the female chiefly 
determines the character of the fore-quarters, head, 
vital and nervous system. In other words this theory 
virtually claims that the female parent determines 
chiefly the nature of the anterior part of the body 
including what mav be termed the higher features 
of the organization, while the male parent determines 
chiefly the nature of the posterior parts, and what 
may be termed the lower features of the same. 

The first theory was propagated by Orton, the 
second by Walker and the third by Spooner and 



THE RELATIVE INFLUENCE OF PARENTS. 161 

others. They all agree in claiming that in transmis- 
sion certain features of the organization are more in- 
fluenced by one parent than by the other, but when 
they attempt to particularize regarding the organs 
affected, the disagreement is most marked. Other 
theories have been propounded which only tend to 
further complicate and obscure the question. 

Objections to Theories Advanced Above. — The 
probable if not indeed the absolute incorrectness of the 
theories just submitted may be shown without great 
difficulty. 

1. It is evidenced in the marked lack of agree- 
ment in the theories themselves and in the advocates 
of what is practically the same theory. There is a 
wide gap between the theories as enunciated. While 
they all rest on a substratum of the idea that propa- 
gation is done by halves, they differ most widely as to 
what constitutes the half. For instance Or ton is posi- 
tive that size is governed chiefly by the female parent, 
and Spooner is equally positive that it is governed by 
the male parent. Nor have the advocates of any 
of those theories sustained them by arguments strong 
and convincing. 

2. It is evidenced in the influence of a prepotent 
male on the whole organization, that is to say, on 
internal structure as well as external form, on the 
higher as well as the lower parts of the organization, 
and on the anterior as well as the posterior parts of 
the being. Mate a vigorous pure bred sire with a 
grade female whose blood elements are much mixed, 
and the whole being of the progeny will bear the 
stamp of the male upon it. The same will be manifest 
in the external form, in the color, size and locomotion 
of the progeny, and in vital, digestive and nervous 



162 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

action. Reverse the process and there will be a like 
preponderance of resemblance to the female in all the 
avenues of the being of the progeny. This one argu- 
ment alone should prove fatal to any theory that 
claims that one parent, in virtue of its sex, influences 
only certain characters in the progeny. 

3. It is further evidenced in the fact of the 
antagonism of several of those theories to what has 
been ascertained regarding the progress of develop- 
ment in the embryo. But the discussion of this phase 
of the question cannot be considered here. 

Practical Deductions. — From what has been ad- 
vanced the conclusion is inevitable that at the present 
time it would not be safe to attribute a preponder- 
ance of influence in transmission to either male or 
female in virtue of its sex. From the whole ground 
gone over it is apparent : — 

1. That the relative influence of parents upon the 
offspring evidently depends upon conditions that can- 
not always be determined. Potency is sometimes 
absent when all the conditions would seem to favor 
its presence, and in other instances it is present when 
the conditions are against it. 

2. The transmission of characters, resembling the 
parent in which they have become dominant are 
likely to prevail. This is but another way of saying 
that the most prepotent parent is likely to have the 
greater influence in determining the character of the 
offspring. The guaranties of prepotency, as purity 
of blood and superior individual vigor, will therefore 
ordinarily be the strongest guaranties of likeness in 
transmission by either parent in the progeny. 

3. On the other hand this will not exclude the 
inheritance of peculiarities from either or both par- 



THE RELATIVE INFLUENCE OF PARENTS. 163 

ents other than those which are dominant. Particu- 
larly will this be true in cross breeding. The unex- 
pected will then happen more frequently than in other 
lines of breeding. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE INFLUENCE OF A PREVIOUS IMPREGNATION. 

That the succeeding progeny of the female pre- 
viously impregnated, does in some instances possess 
resemblances to the male by which she was thus im- 
pregnated cannot be gainsaid. The instances in which 
it has been noticed have been so many and the resem- 
blances have been so marked that they cannot be ac- 
counted for in any other way than by attributing 
them to the influence of such impregnation. On the 
other hand the instances in which such resemblances 
cannot be traced are also numerous. As the different 
results that follow such impregnation cannot positive- 
ly be determined beforehand, the whole question is 
obscured by the uncertainty of the results. Enough, 
however, has been gleaned from observation and other- 
wise, to make it clear to the breeder of high class 
stock, that to breed thus is always attended with an 
element of hazard, since it may introduce into the 
progeny variations that are not desirable. 

The Influence of a Previous Impregnation De- 
fined. — The defining of this question has been in a 
manner anticipated in what has just been said. In 
more precise language, it may be said to mean that in 
the process of procreation, the influence of the male 
sometimes extends to the offspring of the female by 
another male. The fact, as already intimated, has 
been abundantly established by observation. The 
instances in which it has so occurred have been 



THE INFLUENCE OF A PREVIOUS IMPREGNATION. 165 

numerous, not only among the lower animals but also 
in the human family. So marked has been this in- 
fluence that it has in many instances proved a source 
of serious loss to the breeders of pure bred stock. 
Especially has this been the case when certain color 
markings are required as an evidence of purity of 
breeding. 

Illustrations of the Influence of a Previous Im- 
pregnation. — The recorded instances of such inherit- 
ance are so many that the only difficulty found is in 
choosing between them. The following have been 
selected : — 

1. In the Royal stud at Hampton Court, Eng- 
land, it is stated on the authority of Goodale, that 
several colts were dropped in one year sired by the 
thoroughbred stallion Acteon, but which had the 
markings of the thoroughbred stallion Colonel to 
whom the mares had been bred the previous year. 
These markings consisted of a white hind fetlock and 
a white mark or stripe on the face. Acteon had no 
white markings. 

2. The same authority states that Mr. A. Morri- 
son, Bognie, Scotland, had a superior Clydesdale 
mare bred to a Spanish ass in the year 1843. The 
progeny of course was a mule. She was subsequently 
bred to a horse, with the result that the progeny so 
closely resembled a mule that parties who saw it 
at a distance took it for a mule. And what is even 
more remarkable this animal inherited in a marked 
degree certain attributes of the mule, as for instance 
endurance. 

3. Miles records from his own observation the 
case of a Chester white sow, owned by the Michigan 
State Agricultural College, which had been bred to 



166 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

an Essex boar, and the following year was bred to a 
pure Chester white boar. The pigs were all more or 
less spotted with black. This could be accounted for 
in no other way than through inheritance from the 
Essex boar, which is of course black. 

4. Professor Agassiz states that he coupled a 
Newfoundland bitch with a water dog and subse- 
quently with a greyhound. The progeny from the 
second mating bore a close resemblance to the prog- 
eny from the first, which were a mixture of Newfound- 
land and water dog with scarcely any resemblance to 
the greyhound. 

5. This influence has also been detected in many 
instances in the close resemblance which children by 
a second husband have borne to those by the first 
husband. This has been specially noticeable in the 
children of white parents when the mother had pre- 
viously borne one or more children to a negro father. 
The children subsequently begotten by the white 
father are in many instances darker in color than 
other white children, and they also frequently have 
certain features of the negro. 

The Influence of a Previous Impregnation May 
Extend to Successive Births. — In some instances the 
influence of a previous impregnation extends to the 
progeny of a number of births successively by the 
same mother. The following illustrations are select- 
ed:— 

1. Mr. Shaw of Leochel-Cushnie, Scotland, as 
recorded in the Farmers' Magazine, had six pure 
Black faced ewes bred to a pure Leicester ram. Other 
Black faced ewes were mated with a Down ram. The 
Black faced ewes were all horned. The produce were 
of course cross-breds, and show T ed more or less the 



THE INFLUENCE OF A PREVIOUS IMPREGNATION. 167 

characteristics of sire and dam. The next year all 
the Black faced ewes were bred to a pure Black faced 
ram. The progeny had brown faces and were horn- 
less. When mated a second time with a Black faced 
ram, the progeny showed less resemblance to the 
Leicester and also the Southdown than they did the 
previous year, but two of the produce were still 
polled, one was dun faced like the Southdown and had 
small horns, and three were white faced like the 
Leicester. 

2. Mr. Geo. T. Allman, of Tennessee, testifies 
that he bred a pure Berkshire sow successively to a 
pure bred Berkshire boar, and in every instance the 
progeny had little or no hair, in this respect re- 
sembling a Neapolitan sire, with which she had been 
first mated. The Country Gentleman records the 
testimony of Mr. A. W. Frizzell of Maryland which 
in summary is as follows ': He had a pair of prize 
winning Dark Brahma fowls which were inadvert- 
ently mated with pure White Brahma cocks, and with 
the result that three years hence White Brahma mark- 
ings still manifested themselves in the progeny. 

Instances are also on record where pure bred 
mares bred to an ass and subsequently mated only 
with pure bred stallions of kindred blood, never again 
bred true to type. On the other hand it is also true 
that in many instances of breeding, similar in kind, 
like results have not followed, that is to say, the 
females that have thus been coupled with males of 
another breed do again breed true to type. 

A First Explanation of the Influence From a 
Previous Impregnation. — From the instances cited, 
and from a great array of other instances that may 
Be cited, it cannot be doubted that the influence of 



168 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

one impregnation does frequently extend to the prog- 
eny from succeeding impregnations. Three explana- 
tions have been offered which will now be submitted, 
but no one of the three is entirely satisfactory. The 
first submitted, however, is more so than either of 
the others. 

The first explanation of the influences under 
consideration supposes that the mother has been im- 
pressed with the paternal characteristics of the foetus 
during its intra-uterine existence, that is to say, that 
the blood of the female has imbibed from that of the 
male through the placental circulation some of the 
attributes which the foetus has derived from the male 
parent, and that the female may communicate these 
with those proper to^ herself to the subsequent off- 
spring of a different male parent. Dr. Carpenter and 
others have advocated this theory. This explanation 
is probably the most satisfactory that has yet been 
offered of the reasons for the influence under dis- 
cussion. It does not seem unreasonable nor contrary 
to the laws of physiology. If correct, it not only fur- 
nishes an explanation of the resemblances in the off- 
spring from a different male, to that from a male of 
a different breed previously coupled with the mother, 
in the first birth that follows such coupling, but also in 
succeeding births where such resemblances continue 
to manifest themselves. Where they do, it has been 
noticed that they become less pronounced as time 
goes on. This is just what would be expected, as the 
attributes of the male thus imbibed, as explained 
above, would in the absence of renewal, naturally be- 
come obscured by the attributes proper to the female 
which are continually being' renewed by the processes 
which sustain life. 



THE INFLUENCE OF A PREVIOUS IMPREGNATION. 169 

But the objection lias been raised, on the ground 
that similar influences have been observed in fowls 
where the egg is separated from the mother before 
the incubating process begins. The core of the ob- 
jection raised is found in the fact, that during the 
entire process of incubation, in which the materials 
furnished by the mother fowl in the egg are being 
transformed into new life, the entire process goes on 
entirely separate from the mother. Because of this, it 
would seem impossible that during the process its 
character could be in any way influenced by her. 
The plausible answer, however, may be offered to this 
objection, that the attributes of the male may have 
been imbibed through the circulation, while the egg 
was in process of development. 

A Second Explanation of the Influences From a 
Previous Impregnation. — A second explanation sup- 
poses that the impregnated ovum impresses its own 
characters on the mass of the decidua, and through 
this on the maternal placenta, and that the maternal 
placenta in turn impresses its characters on the de- 
cidua and embryo of the next succeeding generation. 
The objections to this theory are, that the placenta 
and decidua are temporary organs that disappear at 
the time of parturition, or within a short time sub- 
sequently, and that the mucous membrane itself is 
removed and replaced with new tissue. It is possible, 
however, that the new mucous membrane formed to 
take the place of the old one may in some way have 
been impressed by the former which it replaces. 
On the principle that adjacent cells do tend in some 
instances to ingraft their plastic or formative powers 
upon each other, the new mucous membrane may have 
become impressed more or less by characters of the 



170 ANIMAL BREEDING^ 

one which it supplants, since the former begins to 
appear some time before the latter is removed; in 
the human family as early as the eighth month of 
pregnancy. It would seem impossible, however, to 
apply this theory to fowls, as Miles has intimated, 
when the embryo is separated from the mother during 
incubation. 

A Third Explanation of the Influences From a 
Previous Impregnation. — A third explanation of the 
influences from a previous impregnation claims that 
through the tendencies of habit the female reproduc- 
tive system is inclined to repeat strongly marked char- 
acters which it may have produced. It has been ob- 
served that impressions transmitted by males of the 
purest breeding are the most marked on the future 
progeny. For instance, the influence from mating an 
ass with a mare is more far reaching on the succeed- 
ing progeny from stallions to which the mare has been 
subsequently bred, than would be the case had the 
mare been bred to a stallion of another breed rather 
than to the ass. Likewise, the influence of a Gallo- 
way sire would be more far reaching on subsequent 
progeny than the influence from a grade sire. It has 
also been observed that in some instances all the suc- 
ceeding progeny are more or less affected by the first 
impregnation, but that the influence traceable is 
usually less and less pronounced as subsequent breed- 
ing from the same female progresses. It is easy to 
understand why intensity of breeding should more 
powerfully affect the sexual system of the females, 
but on the recognized principle that habit is usually 
strengthened with repetition, why should not those 
influences which first gave bias to the sexual system 
in a certain direction grow stronger rather than weak- 



THE INFLUENCE OF A PREVIOUS IMPREGNATION. 171 

er ? The argument therefore that these influences 
result from habit is not satisfactory. 

The Intensity of the Male Element in Fertiliza- 
tion Differs Widely. — The intensity of the influence 
of the male element of fertilization upon the ova 
seems to vary widely in different species, and also in 
animals of the same species. In many species of 
fowls a single act of copulation is sufficient to impreg- 
nate a number of egg's, while in other species a repeti- 
tion of the act is necessary. In the hen, for instance, 
eggs are fertile from four to sixteen days after the 
act of copulation, while with turkeys a single act of 
copulation is sufficient to impregnate all the eggs of 
one laying. It has even been claimed that in some 
instances the single act of copulation will fertilize the 
eggs of a second period of laying. But it has been 
noticed, that incubation is not so satisfactory nor are 
the young birds so strong and vigorous as when the 
male turkey mates more frequently with the female. 

Agassiz states that certain varieties of turtles 
which begin to copulate at seven years do not begin 
to lay eggs until four years later, and copulation twice 
a year seems thenceforth necessary to fertilize succeed- 
ing sets of eggs. Impregnation therefore is a question 
of degree, and this may at least in part account for 
the influence of a previous impregnation upon impreg- 
nations that follow. 

It has been noticed that, in some instances at 
least, the whole female sexual system is thus impress- 
ed when the male animals used in breeding are from 
any cause deficient in bodily vigor. Then it is, that 
when the reproductive energies of cocks have been 
overdrawn upon, through overmuch mating, the hatch- 
ing process which begins is never completed because 



172 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

of inadequate fertilization. In other words, the 
sexual system of the female has been so feebly influ- 
enced, that it does not properly perform the function 
of which it is capable through strong impressions 
made upon it by the male element of fertilization. 

Fecundation Sometimes Affects the Whole Sys- 
tem. — It is very probable, therefore, that the act of 
fecundation does, in some instances at least, affect the 
whole system, and more especially the whole sexual 
system, hence, the ovary to be impregnated afterwards 
is so modified by the first act, that later impregna- 
tions do not efface the first impressions. This theory 
finds support in analogous observations made with 
reference to plant fertilization. Darwin inclines to 
the belief that in such fertilization the male element 
not only affects the germ, but also the surrounding 
tissues of the mother plant, and that therefore the 
male element acts directly on the reproductive organs 
of the females, and not simply through the interven- 
tion of the crossed embryo. If it is true, therefore, 
that the sexual system as a whole is influenced by 
impregnation then it follows that traces of such im- 
pressions may show themselves in progeny from sub- 
sequent impregnations. 

Influence Greatest From a First Impregnation. 
— It seems probable that the influence of the male 
upon succeeding impregnations by other males is more 
marked in the first impregnation. General observa- 
tion most assuredly gives countenance to this view, 
and the influence is greater in proportion as the male 
used in fertilization is prepotent. Such a result may 
arise, first, from the greater impressibility of the 
sexual system when first capable of being impregnat- 
ed, on the principle that youth is always more plastic 



THE INFLUENCE OF A FREVIOUS IMPREGNATION. 173 

and therefore more easily impressed than age. In 
other words, impressibility lessens with the increase 
of the impressions already made. In the second 
place it arises from the power which the potent sire 
has to impress. The counter fact, however, should 
not be lost sight of, that in many instances a pre- 
vious impregnation makes no perceptible influence on 
the progeny from succeeding impregnations. This 
may possibly arise from the greater potency of the 
female to resist impression on the part of the male of 
another breed that may have been coupled with her. 
This phase of the question does not seem to have 
been much discussed, if indeed at all, hence, evidence 
bearing on the question does not seem to have been 
collated. 

Practical Bearing on Stock Breeding. — The 
practical bearing of this question on stock breeding 
is very direct. It follows, first, that it would be very 
unwise to use valuable pure bred females for purposes 
of cross breeding, if they are again to be used in 
breeding pure breds. As has been shown, there is more 
or less probability that they may not again breed true 
to type. In other words, when pure females have 
been used in cross-breeding they should not, as a rule, 
be again kept for producing breeding animals of the 
same pure breed. It follows, second, that young 
females especially should not be thus crossed, because 
of the greater certainty that they will not again breed 
true to type. And it follows, third, that young fe- 
males especially should be carefully guarded from 
impregnation through inferior or ill bred sires. 

In other words, it follows that inferior sires 
should be shunned because of the influence that they 
may exercise upon succeeding impregnations as well 



174 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

as upon the immediate progeny. Bnt it is fair to con- 
cede, that the influence from a sire of mixed breeding 
upon the progeny from subsequent impregnations is 
likely to be less than that of a sire vigorous and pure- 
ly bred. 



CHAPTEK XV. 

INTRA-UTERINE INFLUENCES. 

The relation between influences chiefly external 
in their origin and certain features of development 
more or less abnormal in their character, has been af- 
firmed and denied. These abnormal characters are 
generally apparent at birth, but when they are not 
physical in their character, they may not be noticed 
until sufficient time has elapsed to enable them to 
manifest themselves. Observation has shown that in 
development in utero, certain results occasionally ap- 
pear of such a character that it would seem reasonable 
to link them with certain occurrences, in the relation 
that result bears to cause. Others again claim that it 
is not necessary to link these occurrences with the 
external causes to which they are frequently attribut- 
ed, since they may be otherwise accounted for. 

Intra-Uterine Influences Defined. — Intra-uter- 
ine influences in the broad sense of the term are 
those influences which affect development in the em- 
bryo, but in the present discussion only such of those 
are considered as in the main tend to produce ab- 
normal characters. That abnormal peculiarities 
which cannot be recognized as family characters are 
occasionally observed in animals when they are born 
cannot be denied. They occur not only in mammals 
where the relation between the mother and the embryo 
during the period of utero-gestation is both close and 
intimate, but also in fowls and reptiles where the egg 



176 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

is separated from the mother before there are any 
indications of embryological development. 

Illustrations of Influences Affecting Intra- 
uterine Development. — 1. Within a few months after 
the violent cannonading and explosion of the arsenal 
which occurred at the siege of Landau, in 1793, Baron 
Percy states that ninety-two children were born in 
the district, fifty-nine of whom were still born, or 
died soon after birth, or were possessed of abnormal 
peculiarities. These results have been assigned to 
the alarm caused by the influences referred to and 
the natural results therefrom upon the organization 
of the mothers who bore the children. Two of them 
were born with numerous fractures of the bones and 
limbs. 

2. The color of animals has frequently been in- 
fluenced by that of external objects presented to the 
vision of the parent or parents at the time of con- 
ception. The relation between the influence and the 
results named had evidently, been noticed at a very 
early period. So well was this relation understood 
in the days of the patriarch Jacob, that he was enabled 
to utilize the knowledge in a way that greatly en- 
hanced his wealth, as recorded in Gen. xxx. 25-43. 
The knowledge of this relation has also been turned 
to good account in practical breeding, as when, for 
instance, colts have been sought from a valuable 
stallion but possessed of an undesirable color. In 
many cases colts of pleasing colors have been obtain- 
ed by introducing an animal before the vision of the 
mother at the time of conception, which possessed 
the color or colors desired. 

3. Deformed children have frequently been pro- 
duced by mothers whose attention has been strikingly 



INTRA-UTERINE INFLUENCES. 177 

arrested while the said children were in process of 
development in the uterus, by objects possessed of 
deformity more or less similar to those which have 
characterized the children. These, it has been no- 
ticed, are more liable to occur when the pregnant 
mother has been suddenly startled or affrighted by 
some sight or sound that has made a vivid impression 
on the mind. So frequent are those instances and so 
prevalent is the belief as to their cause, that mothers 
are oftentimes careful to warn their pregnant daugh- 
ters to avoid, when possible, the sight of objects that 
are calculated to produce impressions that are dis- 
agreeable or repulsive, and more especially during 
their first pregnancy. These results have also been 
traced to causes which were operative some time be- 
fore conception. Dr. Allen Thompson, as quoted by 
Miles, cites the case of a woman, who six weeks 
before conception was suddenly affrighted by a beggar 
who had a wooden leg and who also presented a 
stumped arm as he threatened to embrace her. The 
next child had two stump arms and one stump leg. 
Peculiarities have also characterized individuals 
which would seem to be the outcome of the habitual 
mental condition of the mother. In Minneapolis, in 
1895, a woman was on exhibition who had a long and 
flowing beard. She was married and had borne chil- 
dren, which, however, had died young. She was 
gentle and ladylike in manner. In conversation with 
a young physician who accompanied the author, she 
accounted for the beard by saying that her mother had 
been passionately fond of looking at the pictures of 
men with handsome beards. 

4. But the most remarkable instance probably 
on record of what would seem to be the influence of 



178 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

the perceptive powers on intra-uterine development 
occurred at Maysville, Kentucky, in the year 1864. 
In that year a Jersey heifer owned by John B. 
Poyntz, produced a calf with the letters U. S. distinct- 
ly traceable on the left shoulder. The heifer was 
reddish or fawn in color, and the letters were dis- 
tinctly traceable in the white hairs that composed 
them. This heifer along with others of the same 
breed was being pastured in a wood lot simultaneous- 
ly with some twenty to thirty horses belonging to the 
United States government, each one of which on the 
left shoulder bore the brand of the letters U. S. The 
heifer in due time produced a calf with similar 
markings, except that the S was not quite so distinct 
as in the dam. Sworn statements to these facts 
were secured by Dr. Miles in 1875 from John B. 
Poyntz and others personally cognizant of these facts. 
Two Theories as to the Cause of Intra-Uterine 
Peculiarities. — Two theories have been advanced as 
to the cause of abnormal peculiarities in the develop- 
ment of the foetus. The first associates them with 
some mysterious influence exerted on the imagination 
of one or both parents at the time of conception, or 
with impressions violent or otherwise made upon 
the mental or emotional nature of the mother during 
the process of intra-uterine development. These in- 
fluences however are usually considered as applicable 
only to the female. The only influence of course that 
could possibly be attributed to the male would be 
that which affects the imagination and it would not 
seem possible for it to exert any influence on the 
progeny subsequent to the time of mating, that is to 
say, it would seem absolutely impossible that any 



INTRA-UTERINE INFLUENCES. 179 

mental condition of the male subsequent to that 
period could have any influence on his progeny al- 
ready in process of development. 

Whether the imagination of the male exerts any 
influence is a question not easily susceptible of 
demonstration. There should be little doubt, how- 
ever, but that the habitual mental condition of the 
male does affect transmission in virtue of the first 
law of breeding, but whether any vivid conception 
that may possess the male at the time of mating 
or but a short time previously does affect the progeny, 
is not so apparent. The second theory attributes them 
to the operation of natural laws governing physio- 
logical and pathological conditions, nearly all of 
which are understood and which interfere with the 
natural processes of development. 

Reasons Sustaining the First Theory. — The fol- 
lowing are the principal reasons advanced in support 
of the first theory: 1. The instances are numerous 
in which the relation between the alleged causes of 
intra-uterine malformation and the results is both 
intimate and close. This has been shown in the illus- 
trations given above, and as intimated, many more 
could be given equally strong in character. So direct 
does the relation seem to be in many of those instances 
that to deny such a relation in the absence of reasons 
positive in character which account for those peculiar- 
ities in some other way, would do violence to the 
claims of evidence positive in character over that 
which is negative. 

2. It is a fact that the arguments which would 
assign such malformations to other causes is chiefly 
of a negative character. This of course so far weak- 
ens their value as testimony. The chief of these will 
be given in the paragraph below. 



180 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

3. The correctness of the assumption has been 
utilized with advantage in breeding. This has al- 
ready been referred to when speaking of the possi- 
bility of obtaining desirable colors in the progeny by 
placing an animal possessed of such color before the 
vision of the female at the time of conception. It is 
not reasonable to suppose that such practices would 
have been resorted to had experience not shown that 
there was at least reasonable certainty in the results 
that were to be looked for. 

Reasons Opposed to the First Theory. — The fol- 
lowing are some of the objections urged against the 
first theory : 1. Malformations of the foetus often- 
times do not agree with the apprehensions, a priori, 
of pregnant mothers. For instance in the human 
family pregnant mothers who have been greatly con- 
cerned lest they should bear malformed children be- 
cause of some sudden shock given to the system 
through fright or otherwise, have borne children quite 
free from any deformities. Mothers who have borne 
one or more deformed children and who are greatly 
apprehensive lest such deformity should again mani- 
fest itself in the offspring, frequently bear children 
subsequently that are perfectly healthy. The most 
that this objection would seem to prove would be, that 
the alleged causes of such deformity are not always 
operative. 

2. Malformations occur among the inferior ani- 
mals in which the development of physical life is 
very imperfect and when oviparous generation would 
seem to preserve the young from the influence of 
disordered maternal imagination. Malformations oc- 
cur with serpents and other inferior orders of animals 
when it would be scarcely possible to link the imag- 






INTRA-UTERINE INFLUENCES. 181 

ination with the malformation that occurs. In 
oviparous generation it would seem difficult to link 
any influence of the imagination of the mother with 
the generation of malformed progeny, since the latter 
are developed in embryo entirely apart from the moth- 
er. The most, however, that such evidence proves, is, 
that all instances of malformation would not seem 
to be dependent on a disordered condition of the 
mind or nerves of the mother. 

3. When twins are born in the human family, 
one child may be well-formed and the other malform- 
ed. With domestic animals that produce two at a 
birth the same is sometimes true, and with those 
that produce more than two, some may be normally 
developed while others will be malformed. It would 
seem reasonable to suppose that any influence of the 
imagination that would cause malformation in one 
of the progeny would similarly affect others of the 
same birth. But this idea must not be pressed too 
far, since where all the influences are normal, there 
is frequently a marked difference in the size, form 
and color of individuals in the progeny, and yet but 
little is known as to why those differences exist. 

4. The more deeply situated organs, the existence 
of which may be unknown to the pregnant mother, 
are frequently malformed. For instance, the internal 
structure of the ear may be so malformed as to pro- 
duce deafness, and yet the mother may know nothing 
of the structure of that part of the organ of hearing, 
not apparent to the eye. This argument however 
like the preceding, only proves that instances of mal- 
formation may occur from causes altogether separate 
from any influence that can be exerted by the imag- 
ination. 



182 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

5. The anatomical relations of the embryo and 
its uterine envelopes would seem to render it im- 
probable that any mental impression of the mother 
can be made to affect any particular part of the foetus. 
The limitations of our knowledge, however, may only 
be thus rendered more apparent, since some instances 
of malformation seem to result so directly from the 
influence of the imagination that it would seem haz- 
ardous to separate the result from the alleged cause. 

Reasons Sustaining the Second Theory. — The 
following are chief among the reasons given to sup- 
port the view that natural causes furnish a sufficient 
explanation of the abnormal peculiarities which mani- 
fest themselves during the process of intra-uterine 
development : — 

1. In malformed births dissimilar parts are 
seldom fused into or united with each other. While 
the gullet sometimes fuses with the larynx, not being 
originally dissimilar but formed from a common 
mass, neither larynx nor gullet ever fuse for instance 
with the bladder or rectum. 

2. ~Ko malformed organ loses entirely its own 
character or determinate place, and no malformed 
animal loses its generic distinction. For instance, 
the malformed fore-leg is associated with the develop- 
ment of the fore quarter rather than with that of the 
intestines, and the malformed sheep never so far 
loses its identity as to be mistaken for the bovine 
species. 

3. Mature does not deviate ad infinitum, since 
even in monstrosities a distinct gradation and natural 
order are observable. These are observable, as Vrolik 
has shown, (a) in the number or proportion in which 
they occur within a certain period of time ; (&) in the 



INTRA-UTERINE INFLUENCES. 183 

sex; (c) in the definite proportion between the species 
of animals and the more frequent monstrosities in 
them; (d) in the constant form of monsters even 
among heterogeneous animals; and (e) in the greater 
predisposition to monstrosity among some animals. 
From certain statistics compiled it has been found 
that one monster occurs in the human family in about 
3,000 births. In females, malformations more fre- 
quently occur from impeded development and in 
males from what may be termed excessive develop- 
ment, but there are exceptions. Monsters with one 
eye and which have a snout are more frequent in 
swine, and double monsters in man. Headless mon- 
sters and also other forms have the same characters 
in the mammalia as in birds. 

The occurrence of monsters is more frequent in 
the higher orders of animals and it becomes less fre- 
quent as the scale descends. According to the author 
quoted above, three fourths of the entire number of 
monsters occur among mammalia and one fourth 
among birds. They are infrequent among reptiles 
and still less frequent among fishes. They are also 
more frequent among domestic than among wild ani- 
mals. These arguments tend to show that even the 
development of monsters is subject to fixed organic 
laws so far at least as the immediate cause is concern- 
ed. This fact it has been argued would exclude 
the influence of paroxysmal causes. In the judgment 
of the author, such a conclusion is not necessary, since 
it fails to distinguish between what may be an original 
and an immediate or secondary cause. The conclu- 
sion would seem to be legitimate that the greater fre- 
quency of monstrosities among the higher orders of 
animals tends to sustain the view that mind, when 



184 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

viewed as the original cause, does exercise an influ- 
ence through paroxysmal conditions for which it is 
responsible, in the production of monsters. 

Resemblance in Foetal Development in its Early 
Stages. — The fancied resemblance in the foetus in the 
human family to that in some of the lower animals 
may be explained in accordance with the known laws 
of embryological development. There is a close re- 
semblance in the embryo of all vertebrated animals in 
the early stages of development. This arises from 
the fact that animal development is general at the 
first. As development progresses the more special 
features evolve themselves. Up to a certain stage of 
foetal development the order even to which the foetus 
belongs cannot be known from its characters. But, 
with the progress of development, the order, the 
family, the genus, the species, the variety, the sex 
and the individual, gradually unfold themselves, and 
in the order named. It follows, therefore, that the 
earlier the cessation in development occurs, the closer 
is the resemblance likely to be between malformations 
in the human family and those in the lower orders 
of animals. 

The Immediate Cause of Malformations. — Ref- 
erence has already been made to the immediate or 
secondary, and original or first causes in the pro- 
duction of these phenomena. The latter influence is 
much better understood than the former. The im- 
mediate cause of the malformations under considera- 
tion is impaired nutrition of the embryo or of some 
of its parts. This may arise from any severe shock 
of the nervous system in the mother by fright or 
otherwise. But why these influences should thus 
affect nutrition, or how, is yet a mystery. The de- 



INTRAUTERINE INFLUENCES. 185 

pendence of the immediate cause, however, on the 
primary cause, would seem to be so clear as not to 
be gainsaid. The habitual mental condition of the 
mother may also tend to arrest development by im- 
pairing nutrition. 

This influence is better understood when the 
habit of the mind of the pregnant mother in the hu- 
man family is continually sorrowful, the vital ener- 
gies are lowered, in consequence of which the foetus 
suffers in common with all parts of the system. But 
this influence may be operative and yet it may not 
produce any form of malformation. In fact it may 
be questioned whether malformations ever result from 
this cause alone. The extent of the malformation is 
largely owing to the stage of pregnancy when the 
development of the deformed organ or organs begins. 
The earlier that it occurs the greater will be the 
deformity since the individual parts are then less 
distinctly evolved. 

Obscurity That Yet Veils the Subject. — The ex- 
planations given throw some light on the causes of 
these phenomena, but they do not satisfactorily ac- 
count^for all classes of abnormal peculiarities. Some 
of these appear to arise from influences which act 
upon the imagination and which are not paroxysmal 
in character. Such are color markings and in some 
instances possibly even certain peculiarities of form. 
The relation between the influence of the imagination 
that is not paroxysmal in character and the results, 
is even more mysterious than those results which 
appear to come from paroxysmal influences. 

In the present state of our knowledge the whole 
question may be thus summarized: 1. The immedi- 
ate cause of malformations is arrested development. 



186 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

2. But many, at least, of those instances of arrested 
development would appear to be in some way de- 
pendent on original or primary causes such as strong 
mental impressions made on the mind of the mother 
at or shortly before conception, and paroxysmal in- 
fluences such as arise from sudden fright. 3. The 
way however in which those influences tend to pro- 
duce arrested development is not clearly understood. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

INFLUENCES THAT AFFECT THE DETERMINATION 
OF SEX. 

The influences that determine sex have formed 
a common battle ground for those who have written 
upon the subject for many years. No question re- 
lating to the breeding of animals has been more con- 
troverted. And no phase of the subject probably 
has been so much discussed in the agricultural press. 
Adventurers into the domain of animal breeding 
have, one after another, given out to the world that 
they had discovered the secret of the influences that 
control the determination of sex. So positive have 
some of those men been in their assertions, that they 
have offered to stake high wagers as to the correctness 
of the claims which they have made, and yet, in all, 
or nearly all, lines of animal increase, the world goes 
on producing about an equal number of males and 
females on the average. 

Theories Regarding the Determination of Sex. — 
Several theories have been propounded as to the in- 
fluences that lead to the determination of sex in 
procreation. Seven of these will be noticed in this 
discussion. They include the more important of the 
many theories put forward on the subject. That the 
influences concerned in the production of sex are 
controlled by definite physiological laws which are 
uniform in their action cannot be questioned, since 
there can be no effect without a cause. But up to 
the present time, it would be correct to say, that they 



188 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

have in the main, if not entirely, eluded the grasp of 
the most patient investigators. Notwithstanding the 
immense amount of research given to the study of this 
question and the much experimenting done regarding 
it, the little progress that has been made in the in- 
quiry thus conducted is in a sense humiliating. But 
some things have been learned with reference to it 
that probably can be turned to some useful account 
by the breeder, as will be shown below. 

First Theory Regarding the Determination of 
Sex. — This theory claims that the right ovary and 
the right testicle are concerned in the production 
of males, and that the left ovary and the left testicle 
are concerned in the production of females. In 
various ways it may be shown that this theory is 
untenable. 

1. Males with but one testicle and females with 
but one ovary produce offspring of both sexes. This 
has been noticed in the human family and also in 
the breeding of domestic animals. Since the defect 
mentioned is apparent to the eye in males, and it is 
not so apparent in females, the evidence showing that 
males with but one testicle beget progeny of both 
sexes is cumulative, and this result would seem to 
follow equally whichever testicle may be wanting. 
But post mortem investigations have shown that fe- 
males in which one ovary was wanting, or imperfect, 
or diseased, have produced animals of both sexes, re- 
gardless of the fact as to whether the right or the left 
ovary was missing. 

2. Experiments have been conducted to test 
the correctness of the theory. That conducted by Mr. 
J. Buckingham of Zanesville, O., .is probably the 
most significant of these that have been recorded. It 



THE DETERMINATION OF SEX. 189 

is significant because of the number of the animals 
in the experiment. It included nine sows and three 
boars. The sows were divided equally into three lots. 
From one in each lot the right ovary was removed, 
from another the left ovary, and the third sow in 
each instance was left in possession of both ovaries. 
The sows in lot one were mated with a boar from 
which the right testicle had been removed and those 
in lots two and three respectively were mated with 
a different boar, from each of which in each instance 
the left testicle had been removed. Each sow pro- 
duced from seven to nine pigs._ In each litter there 
were not less than three males nor more than five. 
'The males and females in the aggregate Avere nearly 
equal in number. The facts relating to the experi- 
ment were given in the Country Gentleman as early 
as 1865, and yet this theory still finds some advocates. 

3. Instances are on record in the human family 
wherein females with but one ovary have produced 
twins and this has happened when the right ovary has 
been wanting in some instances and the left ovary in 
others. The evidence then against the correctness 
of the theory under consideration is simply over- 
whelming. 

Second Theory Regarding the Determination of 
Sex. — This theory affirms that the sex is determined 
by the degree of the maturity of the egg at the time 
of fecundation. That which has not reached a certain 
degree of maturity at the time of impregnation pro- 
duces a female, and that which is impregnated later 
produces a male. In other words early impregnation 
produces females and late impregnation males. This 
theory was first advanced by Prof. Theury of the 
Academy of Geneva, and for a time it met with con- 



190 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

siderable favor. It is based on the assumption that 
the production of male organs arises from the greater 
maturity and consequently the more complete de- 
velopment of the germ. But the observed results 
from ordinary farm practice in breeding are sufficient 
to disprove this theory, for, when males and females 
run together, the service always takes place during 
an early stage of the period of heat in the female, and 
yet the proportion of the females is not materially in- 
creased. 

Were this theory correct the entire progeny from 
males and females which run together would be fe- 
males. In other instances, when the time of mating 
has been under the control of the individual and has 
not taken place until a late stage of the period of 
heat in the females, the proportion of the males 
has not been increased. In such instances impregna- 
tion could not have taken place early. But there is 
the further objection to this theory growing out of 
the fact that the conjunction of the male and female 
elements of generation, does not always take place at 
the time of copulation, hence, it is impossible to tell 
the precise time of fecundation. Impregnation can- 
not of course take place until the male element in 
generation, the spermatozoa, comes in contact with 
the ovum, the female element of generation. Now, 
it has been ascertained that the ovum in some in- 
stances escapes early from the ovary during the period 
of heat and at other times late. The time of its escape 
then is uncertain. Consequently the exact time of 
the impregnation is uncertain. It is possible, there- 
fore, that copulation may take place early during 
the period of heat in the female and impregnation at 
a later period of the same than in other instances 



THE DETERMINATION OF SEX. 191 

when the copulation is also late in the period of heat. 
With some animals, as dogs and rabbits, several days 
may elapse after copulation before the male and fe- 
male elements of generation come together to pro- 
duce impregnation. This theory therefore cannot 
be accepted. 

Third Theory Regarding the Determination of 
Sex. — This theory claims that the degree of the im- 
pregnation influences the sex. It holds that a pre- 
ponderance in the male element in impregnation 
would produce males and in the female element) fe- 
males. In other words when just enough of the 
male element unites with the ovum of the female to 
produce impregnation or when there is a preponder- 
ance in the female element the result will be a 
female, but when the opposite is true the result will 
be a male. It finds some countenance in the number 
of males begotten by sires possessed of marked vigor. 
But the number and striking character of the ex- 
ceptions tend to bring discredit on the theory. For 
instance, some males apparently vigorous have be- 
gotten females largely in excess of males, howsoever 
they may have been mated. 

It is also in direct conflict with apparently well 
authenticated facts observed among certain insects. 
In bees, for instance, the queen is a perfect female, 
the drones are males, and the neuter workers which 
gather the honey are imperfect females. If the last 
named lay eggs they produce drones. When the queen 
is unimpregnated the eggs which she lays produce 
drones. When impregnated her eggs produce females, 
that is to say the neuter workers. With bees therefore 
the male element of fertilization would seem to be 
necessary only for the production of females. But 



192 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

granting that the theory under consideration were 
true, it would scarcely be possible so to control mating 
that the results could be relied on with any great 
decree of certaintv. 

Fourth Theory Regarding the Determination of 
Sex. — This theory affirms that every alternate egg or 
germ produced by the female is of the same sex. 
According to this theory, therefore, the sex of the 
offspring will depend upon the egg or ovum impreg- 
nated. For instance, if a cow had produced a bull 
calf, and a heifer calf were next desired, she should 
be served during the first heat after calving, or dur- 
ing some period of heat subsequently indicated by an 
odd number. But if a bull calf were desired then 
service should take place during the second period 
of heat after calving or at some subsequent period 
indicated by even numbers. But the production of 
one sex only or mainly by certain individuals regard- 
less of the order of the period of heat at which the 
service takes place, discounts this theory. Nor can 
it be reconciled with the instances in which twins 
are produced, one of which is a male and the other 
a female. With animals that produce several at a 
birth as swine, for instance, the respective litters 
almost invariably include animals of both sexes. The 
theory is also in conflict with the observed influence 
of nutrition on the sex of certain insects and plants. 
In the development of these, the sex is chiefly de- 
termined by the character of the nutrition as is 
further shown below. (See page 195.) 

Fifth Theory Regarding the Determination of 
Sex. — This theory claims that a preponderance of 
influence in determining the sex lies with the female. 
This conclusion has been reached because of the fre- 



THE DETERMINATION OF SEX. 193 

quently observed fact, that some females usually pro- 
duce animals of one sex no matter how mated. That 
some females do breed thus cannot be. disputed, but 
in some instances the progeny are all or nearly all 
males. If the theory were true, therefore, it would 
be of no practical value, since it could not be deter- 
mined beforehand which sex would be in excess in the 
progeny. Nor can it be denied that a far larger num- 
ber of females beget animals of both sexes without any 
apparent bias toward one line of production or the 
other. 

If the theoiy under discussion were true, the 
numerical superiority of females could be made to 
have a marked influence on the relative numbers of 
the sexes. But in extended experience any bias one 
way or the other has not been observable. Nor should 
the fact be lost sight of that what is true of some 
females is also true of probably as large a percentage 
of males in proportion to the entire number of both 
used in breeding. In instances, not a few, males will 
beget nearly all male progeny and yet other males will 
beget all or nearly all female progeny. The most 
that can be said with positiveness is that some indi- 
viduals and also some families have a tendency to 
produce more of one sex than another. The fact has 
been observed but it cannot be pre-judged beforehand 
in which direction the bias to the production of more- 
of one sex than another will lie. This theory there- 
fore must be set aside. 

Sixth Theory Regarding the Determination of 
Sex. — This theory claims that the number of the 
males or females will be in excess in proportion as 
the sire or dam, is strong or weak, in vigor of maturity 
or otherwise. The most extensive experiment on 



194 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

record that has yet been made bearing upon ;his 
theory is that conducted by M. C. Giron de B zar- 
eingues, in France, in 1826. Two flocks wen. ex- 
perimented upon. To obtain ewe lambs young males 
not yet matured were mated with strong and well 
fed ew T es, and to obtain ram lambs, vigorous and ma- 
tured rams were mated with the weaker ewes of die 
flock. When young males were mated with mature 
and well fed females the female progeny were con- 
siderably in excess, and when vigorous and matured 
rams were mated with weaker ewes the male progeny 
were considerably in excess. These experiments, 
therefore, would seem to show that there is an ele- 
ment of truth in this theory. Statistics compiled 
from the birth records of the British peerage also lend 
countenance to this theory, but as Miles has shown, 
these are not in entire agreement with figures bearing 
upon the question and gathered from a wider field. 
The variations that may have arisen from the causes 
which this theory is based upon can scarcely be said 
to be sufficient to establish incontrovertible its cor- 
rectness. There does, however, seem to be some rela- 
tion between a preponderance of vigor in the sire 
or dam and excess in the numbers of the sex h± the 
progeny to correspond, in some measure at least, with 
such preponderance. And this theory is in agree- 
ment with that which relates to the influence of 
nutrition on the sex as noted below. 

This theory may not seem in accord with the 
actual results obtained in breeding, since in breeding 
pure breds and high grades more care is taken in the 
selection of the male than of the average female in 
the herd or flock. The males are usually possessed 
of more individual vigor, and yet there is not any 



THE DETERMINATION OF SEX. 195 

noticeable predominance in the production of males.. 
But the excess of vigor inherent in such males as com- 
pared with that possessed by the females may be 
counteracted by the extent to which he is used in 
service, at least at certain seasons of the year. The 
fair way to test this theory would be to mate only 
one such male with one female, or to mate him only 
with that frequency which could not in any way les- 
sen his vigor, and then compare the results. 

Seventh Theory Regarding the Determination 
of Sex. — This theory argues that the determination 
of sex is influenced by the activity of the functions of 
nutrition. It finds some countenance in the develop- 
ment of queen bees from neuter eggs and in the in- 
fluence of light and heat in determining the sex of 
plants. A queen bee may be produced from neuter 
eggs,that is to say, the eggs that ordinarily produce 
working bees, and they are so produced when a queen 
bee is lost to the hive. The process in the transforma- 
tion in the development would seem to depend first, 
on enlarging the quarters in which development takes 
place, and second, on feeding to the larvae when 
hatched food more stimulating in character than the 
ordinary bee bread laid up for the sustenance of 
the workers. In the development of the perfect fe- 
male among bees, therefore, liberal nutrition would 
seem to exercise an important influence. Experi- 
ments conducted with certain insects show that when 
the larvaB are not well sustained before going into 
the chrysalis state, the perfected animals developed 
from them are males, but when the opposite is true 
they are females. 

As the result of careful observations made with 
plants the conclusion has been reached that the sex 



196 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

in plants is largely dependent on the kind and more 
especially the degree of the nutrition. The higher 
grades of nutrition produce females and the lower 
males. Light and heat in proper balance and accom- 
panied with libera] nutrition seem to favor the pro- 
duction of females. With certain plants, however, ac- 
cording to Knight, if exposed to heat excessive in 
proportion to the light, the flowers produced are male, 
but if light is excessive in proportion to the heat fe- 
male flowers only are produced. The evidence is 
certainly clear that with certain orders of insect life 
and also with certain kinds of plant life, nutrition 
does exercise an influence on the sex. By analogy, 
therefore, the inference Avould seem fair, that the 
same physiological law would apply to domestic ani- 
mals, in the absence of evidence to the contrary. This 
theory throws some light on the observed fact, that 
in some seasons there is a great preponderance in 
males in the domestic animals produced, and in other 
seasons in females. The character of- the nutrition 
in the pastures is probably at least measurably respon- 
sible for the results. 

According to the theory under consideration, a 
liberal nutrition, and of course suitable in kind, should 
prove favorable to the production of females. But 
with live stock grown upon the farm the evidence 
would seem to be wanting to show whether the actual 
facts chord with the theory. Data bearing on this 
question, as far as known to the author, have not been 
gathered. Nor does the fact that in one class of 
domestic animals as cattle, males should be in excess, 
while in another class as sheep, females should be in 
excess necessarily invalidate the argument, since the 
kind of nutrition favorable to the development of but 



THE DETERMINATION OF SEX. 197 

one sex in the former may not be exactly the same as 
that favorable to the development of the same in the 
latter. For instance, pastures in that condition best 
suited to dairy cows are not those best suited to sheep. 
And along with succulence in the pastures the element 
of nutrition must not be overlooked, since succulent 
pastures are not necessarily nutritious. 

Prepotency not a Factor in Producing Sex. — 
The use of the term prepotency as a factor in pro- 
ducing sex is objectionable, as it relates rather to 
the transmission of qualities than of sex. "Neverthe- 
less, it has been frequently applied thus. That it 
should not be so applied is apparent from the fact 
that in many instances a pure male may stamp his 
characters upon the offspring and yet they may be 
of both sexes, or many of them may be females. An 
animal therefore may be prepotent in the highest de- 
gree, in the correct sense of the term, and yet have no 
special power to beget progeny of the one sex or the 
other. 

Uniformity in the Proportion of the Sexes. — 
The uniformity in the respective numbers of each 
sex produced indicates the existence of some general 
law, though it is not yet discovered, that is uniform 
in its action. In this way, the equilibrium in the 
sexes is maintained under all the changed conditions 
to which animal life may be subjected. The propor- 
tion of males born is perhaps slightly in excess of that 
of females. This at least would seem to be true of 
the human family. Statistics gathered from various 
sources would seem to indicate that it is so, but the 
excess is slight. Whether the same is true of the 
lower animals cannot be known until sufficient data 
are gathered on which to base a conclusion. So far as 



198 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

such data have been compiled it would seem to show 
that the proportion of females born in domestic ani- 
mals was slightly in excess. In the human family, 
the slight excess in the number of males would seem 
to be a wise provision, as the early mortality and the 
death rate from other causes among males is greater. 
These causes are such as relate to accident and war. 
Because of these influences, the number of females 
who reach maturity is probably somewhat greater 
than that of the males. Whether the laws that re- 
late' to the production of sex can ever be so fully 
ascertained that it can certainly be controlled at 
will the future alone can disclose. And whether such 
knowledge would be helpful to mankind in regulating 
the sex of the human family is problematical. It 
would seem to be true, however, that in breeding 
domestic animals it could be made a source of legiti- 
mate gain, hence the search for light on the question 
should be continued. 

Summary of What is Known Regarding the De- 
termination of Sex. — From the discussion of the 
whole question it will be apparent that but little is 
known as to the precise influences that control sex. 
Of the seven theories considered five at least when 
weighed in the balances are found wanting. The 
theories that relate to the influence of vigor of body 
in the one instance and of nutrition in the other 
would seem to be possessed of some value, but in 
actual practice they are not easy of application. It 
would seem to be true, other things being equal, that 
the animal possessed of greater vigor and maturity 
at the time of mating does exercise the greater in- 
fluence in determining the sex, and that an abundant 
nutrition during the period of gestation and probably 



THE DETERMINATION OF SEX. 199 

earlier, is favorable to the production of females. In 
seeking an excess of females, therefore, in the prog- 
eny, the females should be relatively strong and 
liberally sustained with a suitable nutrition. These 
two influences may also act in conjunction with other 
influences not as yet understood. It is also true that 
some individuals and families have this power in a 
greater degree than others. But the reasons for such 
preponderance are so obscure that but little can be 
offered regarding them that will throw any light 
on the question. The fact, however, makes it clear 
that vigor and nutrition are by no means the only in- 
fluences concerned in the production of sex. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



NUTRITION. 



The relation between nutrition and development 
is so intimate and close that it may be said the latter 
is regulated by the former more than by any other 
individual influence. The question of feeding ani- 
mals suitably is simply another name for supplying 
them with suitable nutrition, and consequently the 
study of this question is simply a study of nutrition. 
The whole art of feeding is based upon the proper 
adjustment of the relation between nutrition and de- 
velopment. But the influence of nutrition is not by 
any means confined to development as such. It so 
influences the whole animal system that it more or 
less affects transmission, generation, fecundity and 
vigor. 

Nutrition Defined. — ISTutrition is the act or 
process by which organisms, whether vegetable or ani- 
mal, absorb into their system their proper food. When 
restricted to animals it may be defined as the process 
of assimilating food taken into the stomach. When 
confined to plants it means the proper appropriation 
of food secured by the plant through the medium of 
its roots and leaves. In animals nutrition is most 
intimately associated with digestion, in fact it is the 
outcome of the latter. The whole process of digestion 
in the stomach is simply a process whereby the food 
taken into the same is prepared for being assimilated 
by the system, that is to say, appropriated by it. 



NUTRITION. 201 

Through the medium of the assimilative and circula- 
tory processes, every part of the system receives its 
appropriate food. 

Conditions upon Which Nutrition in Animals 
Depends. — The activity of nutrition in animals is 
dependent upon such influences as age, inheritance, 
bodily vigor and food. Digestion and assimilation, 
and consequently a well sustained nutrition, is more 
active at birth and gradually becomes less so as the 
animal becomes older. This fact furnishes the ex- 
planation why, as a rule, animals make less gain and 
require more food to make the gain, the further the 
birth period is receded from. It also explains why the 
food of maintenance increases with advancing age, 
and why as old age advances decline becomes inevi- 
table. But this question is further discussed in the 
chapter on early maturity. These qualities, that is 
to say, the qualities of digestion and assimilation, are 
as much a matter of transmission as of bodily form. 

This has been abundantly shown in the much 
greater increase in weight that has been obtained from 
animals whose parents showed much capacity for 
making such increase, than could be obtained from 
animals of similar age and similarly fed whose par- 
ents showed little capacity for such increase in propor- 
tion to the food fed. It explains why, in the growing 
of meat, it is so important to use sires possessed of 
"good feeding qualities," which means, that they have 
good appetites and therefore consume much food, 
good digestion to prepare it for assimilation, good 
assimilation to prepare it for absorption into the 
system and the capacity to produce meat of a good 
quality and -abundantly where specially valuable. 
Digestion and assimilation are also vigorous in pro- 



202 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

portion to the inherent bodily vigor of the animal as 
they suffer along with the other organs through a 
naturally weak or impaired bodily vigor, hence the 
great importance of seeking to secure all necessary 
stamina in the animal produced. 

But the fact should not be lost sight of that 
stamina alone is not a sufficient guaranty of the 
highest type of digestion and food assimilation, since 
animals possessed of apparently equal stamina in 
many instances do not show an equal capacity for 
appropriating food. These qualities are, moreover, 
vigorous in proportion to the abundance of the food 
supplies up to a certain limit, and to the easily di- 
gestible and nutritious character of the same. Put an 
animal on an insufficient supply of food and it will 
not only lose flesh and weight, but if the food is in- 
sufficient beyond a certain degree the digestion and 
assimilation through sympathy with a decreased vigor 
will also become less vigorous. A parallel is found in 
the running of a steam engine on an insufficient sup- 
ply of steam. That foods easy of digestion and also 
rich in nutriment would favorably affect digestion 
and assimilation is so apparent that further discus- 
sion thereon is unnecessary. 

When a Defective Nutrition is Most Harmful. — 
Defective nutrition is most harmful when animals 
are young and immature, and the nearer the birth 
period that it is defective or insufficient the more 
harmful is it. 

1. Defective nutrition at the period indicated 
begets assimilation undiily concerned in building 
up those parts of the body which are not so intrinsical- 
ly valuable, and building them up in a way not in 
consonance with the highest types of development at 



NUTRITION. 203 

a more advanced period. Feed a calf for instance on 
food insufficient in quantity and the bones, hide aud 
hair will develop more relatively than the muscles. 
Feed it food innutritions and excessive in quantity 
and it will become paunchy as when it is fed on whey. 
Feed it food with an excess of nutriment in propor- 
tion to the bulk and the stomach will not distend 
sufficiently for the most effective Avork at a later 
period. And these features of development will in 
a greater or less degree characterize the animal when 
matured and subsequently. K"o later management, 
howsoever orthodox, will ever completely obliterate 
them, and they will be permanently harmful in pro- 
portion to the intensity of the causes that produced 
them, the duration of the period that these were 
operative and the earliness of the period in develop- 
ment at which they occurred. As with the youth who 
has gone astray and come back again to the paths of 
rectitude, the scar remains. 

2. It hinders development when it can be most 
cheaply and effectively made, that is to say, during 
the growing period. 

3. When any periods of stagnation in develop- 
ment occur there is not only present loss during the 
continuance of the same but the capacity for future 
development is weakened, and it is so weakened in 
proportion to the duration of such periods of arrested 
development and to the extent to which the nutrition 
is defective in them. Thus it is that young animals 
passing through such periods of arrested development 
can never again be made as profitable as they other- 
wise would have been, and the loss from the last 
named source is often much greater than from that 
first named. 



204 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

Insufficient Nutrition Attended with Loss. — - 
An insufficient nutrition is always attended with 
loss. When it occurs before maturity it prolongs the 
period of development. The extent of such prolonga- 
tion will be somewhat proportionate to the length of 
time during which the nutrition was not sufficient to 
fully meet the requirements of the animal. When it 
occurs after maturity, what may be termed the work- 
ing capacity of the animal is hindered. A horse thus 
fed will not be able to perforin a maximum of labor. 
A steer thus fed will not be able to produce a maxi- 
mum return in meat. A cow thus fed will not be 
able to give a maximum amount of milk. Thus it will 
be with all other domestic animals. They will not 
give to the owner the best return that they are capable 
of. When it happens during gestation the animal is 
measurably incapacitated for properly sustaining its 
young after birth. And if the nutrition is wanting 
before birth beyond a certain degree, the foetus also 
will suffer deprivation along with the dam which 
carries it. 

In all instances an insufficient nutrition tends to 
increase the cost of the food of maintenance. This 
may be readily shown when it is remembered that the- 
only profit that can be obtained from keeping an 
animal is the return which it gives above the cost 
of maintenance. Reduce the power of a horse below 
what may be its maximum capacity for labor and the 
cost of maintenance is relatively increased in pro- 
portion as the said capacity goes below the maximum. 
Keep a growing animal on an insufficient food supply 
and the cost of the food of maintenance will increase 
relatively in proportion to the extent that its capacity 
for gain is kept below what may be termed the normal 



NUTRITION". 205 

maximum. Give it only enough food to maintain it, 
and there is no increase in weight whatever. 

It follows, therefore, that when growing animals 
are so wintered that they weigh no more in the spring 
than they did in the fall, there is no direct return 
whatever for the food fed during that period. There 
may be in some instances a prospective return, as 
when animals are wintered on cheap fare that they 
may make increase on cheap pastures the following 
season. It is greatly important, therefore, that as a 
rule, growing animals should have enough of suitable 
food during the maturing period to enable them to 
make a maximum increase in weight, without forced 
feeding. 

To attain the highest possible increase in weight, 
as with animals that are forced for exhibition, it 
may be necessary to feed foods that will unduly in- 
crease the cost of production to admit of any profit 
accruing. And it is equally important that a matured 
animal should receive food enough at all times to 
enable it to give a maximum return without forced 
feeding. If the highest possible production in milk is 
to be obtained from a cow for a limited period, forced 
feeding must be resorted to which will unduly in- 
crease the cost of production. 

Relative Importance of a, Free Nutrition. — 
What may be termed a free nutrition, that is a liberal 
nutrition, is more important relatively for improved 
animals than for those inured to what may be termed 
a scant fare, that is, an insufficient fare. The reasons 
for this are, that the inherited qualities of digestion 
and assimilation in the former call for full supplies 
of food, whereas, with those inured to a scant fare 
the digestive habit of the system is not seriously inter- 



206 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

•fered with when food supplies are short. In other 
words the former suffers more than the latter when 
food supplies are insufficient for any prolonged 
period. And the degree of the ill-doing that follows 
will be proportionate to the extent to which they have 
inherited the high capacity for profitable digestion 
and food assimilation, but on the condition that the 
food supplies shall be sufficient. 

This accounts in part for the ill-doing, not infre- 
quently noticed, of pure bred animals which may have 
fallen into the hands of careless owners. It also ex- 
plains, in part, why a large breed or grade of animals 
introduced into pastures that do not furnish sufficient 
food for those of so much weight, fare less well than 
smaller animals. In both instances the equilibrium 
in digestion is upset. 

Abundant Nutrition Wai~ds Off Disease. — An 
abundant nutrition is a safeguard against the inroads 
of disease. By strengthening the system it gives it 
a power to resist the influences of disease which it 
could not otherwise have. The jDrinciple is so gener- 
ally conceded that a system naturally weak, debili- 
tated or lacking in robustness falls an easy prey to 
disease that it does not require to be argued. Any 
influence therefore that tends to build up and to 
tone the system, gives it increased power to withstand 
the inroads of disease, hence the value of an abundant 
nutrition for such a purpose. When the tendency to 
disease is transmitted it is also much more likely to 
remain quiescent when the nutrition is abundant, and 
for the reason that such abundance in the food tends 
to keep the system of the animal so well sustained 
that those inherited tendencies are more than matched 
^>y the vigorous condition of the animal. 



NUTRITION. 207 

An Excessive Nutrition harmful. — In young 
animals it may so weaken the digestive and assimila- 
tive powers as to permanently injure them, after 
which perfection in growth and in future well-doing 
are impossible. Overtax the arm of a child and 
weakness in the arm more or less harmful and more 
or less permanent follows. Overtax the brain of a 
child and its capacity for labor is permanently les- 
sened. The extent of the injury in both instances 
will be proportionate to the earliness of the period 
at which the overtaxing occurred and to the severity 
and prolongation of such overtaxing. Likewise when 
the digestion of a young animal is overtaxed by feed- 
ing excessively, strong, stimulating and concentrated 
foods, as for instance, certain kinds of rich meal, in- 
jury to the digestive organs more or less permanent 
follows. When this happens the completest develop- 
ment can never be secured in the animal thus overfed. 
Partial recovery may follow by promptly changing 
the system of feeding, that is, by feeding less con- 
centrated foods and more or less limited in quantity 
according to the appetite of the animal, which for 
a time should be whetted by feeding a little less food 
than the animal would consume if allowed to feed at 
will. 

Matured animals may be permanently injured 
in the same way, but this does not happen so fre- 
quently in breeding stock as when they are young, 
for the reason that they are less frequently overfed. 
But it often happens with animals that are being 
fattened. The remedy is virtually the same in both 
instances. It consists in promptly lessening the 
amount of food fed, and changing the variety of the 
same for a time. With animals intended for the dairy 



208 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

an excessive nutrition would be fatal to a capacity 
for milk production of the first order. An excessive 
nutrition in such an instance would not necessarily 
imply food excessive in quantity to secure sufficient 
growth in the animal so much as food excessive in 
richness, that is, in fat producing ingredients. Such 
a diet would beget in the young dairy animal a habit 
in the system of laying on flesh which would be more 
or less permanent, and which so far militates against 
milk-giving because of the food that would be utilized 
in making flesh rather than milk during each period 
of lactation that would follow. And in any event an 
excessive nutrition is wasteful. But the loss which 
thus arises from wasting the food is frequently less 
than the loss in other respects which arises from ex- 
cessive feeding. 

Nutrition and Fecundity. — Nutrition has an im- 
portant bearing on fecundity. An insufficient nutri- 
tion and an excessive nutrition are both adverse to the 
healthy and vigorous action of the generative func- 
tions. There is a close relation between activity in 
the breeding powers and nutrition. When the latter 
is unduly wanting the breeding impulse is not called 
into exercise. Thus it is that the rutting season 
with wi]d animals is at that time when the system has 
been brought into an equilibrium of condition through 
the abundance of food supplies (see p. 14-0) , that 
cows poorly wintered will not come into heat until 
some time after the pastures have become plentiful 
(see p. 141), and that brood sows much reduced in 
flesh through nursing young will not breed again 
until the emaciated form is at least partially built up 
again. It also explains why the lamb crop is so 
deficient numerically from range ewes in seasons 



NUTRITION. 209 

following those of marked deprivation arising from 
storms or other causes at the mating season. 

On the other hand if the nutrition is excessive, 
that is to say, if it is present in oversupply and is 
unsuitable in character, as when it induces a sluggish 
and plethoric condition of the system, it acts prejudi- 
cially on the organs concerned in generation, as shown 
in Chapter XII. when discussing fecundity. A dry 
dietary is less favorable to generation than one suc- 
culent and juicj^ (see p. 14-3). The fact has been 
noticed again and again. This partly explains why 
a flock of ewes taken from dry grass pastures and 
put upon abundant pastures of well grown rape will 
soon come into heat. Similarly an excess of carbo- 
naceous food tends to weaken and impair the genera- 
tive functions (see also p. 144). Thus it is that females 
under forced feeding on a dry diet and abundantly 
supplied with grain carbonaceous in character, as 
corn, do not conceive readily. It would not be pos- 
sible perhaps to give all the reasons for the results 
mentioned, but a potent reason is found in the inabil- 
ity of a dry dietary and likewise one carbonaceous 
to supply the organs of generation with the materials 
necessary to the full performance of their respective 
functions. 

An improving condition is peculiarly favorable 
to generation. The generative organs are stimulated 
into action by such improvement. Hence it is that 
animals insufficiently supplied with food in the winter 
breed soon after the system has felt the renovating 
influence of good pastures. It also explains why a 
generous and more or less stimulating diet is recom- 
mended to be fed to animals to hasten the breeding 
impulse. 



210 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

Nutrition and the Embryo. — Nutrition mate- 
rially affects the embryo during gestation. A car- 
bonaceous diet does not adequately furnish to_ the 
foetus the requisite materials for growth, any more 
than it furnishes the materials concerned in concep- 
tion. As a result the young animal will be lacking 
in size and vitality at the time of birth. It may 
also be deficient in hair and when the deprivation has 
been excessive it may be still born. Such a diet is 
also unfavorable to easy delivery, hence it has fre- 
quently occurred that both mother and young have 
been lost at the time of parturition from no other 
cause. A diet insufficient in strength or quantity 
also tends to hinder development of the foetus. But 
it sometimes happens that the deprivation mentioned 
will affect the female adversely more relatively than 
the foetus which she carries. In other words she may 
produce a well-developed calf apparently at the ex- 
pense of her own flesh and vigor. The opposite of 
this also occurs frequently, as when an overfat fe- 
male produces progeny small and lean. In such in- 
stances the elements of nutrition would seem to be 
unevenly distributed whatsoever the cause may be. 
Why the currents of nutrition should thus vary and 
should also vary in their intensity in individual in- 
stances when flowing in the same direction is not well 
understood. 

Nutrition and Malformations. — The relation is 
close betAveen nutrition and malformations in the 
embryo. The immediate cause of these is arrested 
nutrition as shown in Chapter XV., when discussing 
intra-uterine influences. This question, treated at 
some length in the said chapter, will not be further 
discussed here, but it will be proper to add, that the 



NUTRITION. 211 

causes which thus arrest nutrition may be quite be- 
yond the control of the feeder. The food may be 
unexceptionable in character, and fed with the high- 
est of skill, and yet abnormal development may fol- 
low, arising from causes which are as yet imperfectly 
understood. 

Nutrition and Sex. — That nutrition may pos- 
sibly exercise an influence in determining the sex 
has been shown in Chapter XVI. , which treats of sex. 
It was there shown that a generous and proper nutri- 
tion would seem to favor the production of females. 
The understanding of this question, however, is as 
yet so imperfect that what is known regarding it 
must not be too confidently relied upon to produce 
results. This question has already been discussed at 
some length in the chapter just mentioned (see page 
195). 

Nutrition and Inherited Qualities. — Nutrition 
is much influenced by inherited qualities. Animals 
of improved breeding adapted to meat making or milk 
production in a marked degree are through inherit- 
ance possessed of a vigorous digestion and consequent- 
ly of a vigorous nutrition. With the latter the food 
consumed is not absorbed into the system to remain 
as in the former, but the large milk production result- 
ing is none the less the outcome of a vigorous diges- 
tion. On the other hand animals descended from 
those of unimproved breeding and ill adapted to the 
uses named cannot turn the food given to equally good 
account, since they inherit digestive qualities of a 
different character. That such inheritance extends to 
breeds or types has been denied, but if the character 
of the digestion 'is a matter of inheritance, which it 
certainlv is, such an affirmation is most reasonable. 



212 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

Experience in handling such animals and careful 
observation favor the same view, but more extended 
experimentation is wanted before all who take the 
other view will be silenced. The following illustra- 
tion has a very direct bearing upon the subject: — 

Take a vigorous Hereford calf descended from 
parents which have been noted for flesh production, 
and place it in a box stall when born. Feed it all 
the food suitable in kind that it ought to have to 
produce a maximum of growth until it is one year 
old. In a box stall beside the former put a scrub 
calf at birth, and subject it to precisely similar treat- 
ment. Weigh both at the end of one year. The 
Hereford will certainly weigh more in proportion to 
the food consumed than the other. The weak point 
in the illustration is, that it is to an extent hypothet- 
ical. The author can only point to one experiment 
actually conducted to throw light on this question 
though others may have been so conducted. The facts 
which relate to this experiment are given in Bulletin 
LXX, issued by the Ontario Agricultural College in 
1892. The increase in weight was in favor of the well 
bred animals. 

Nutrition and Profits. — Nutrition has an im- 
portant bearing on the profits obtained from animals. 
That it should have is the inevitable conclusion that 
must be reached from much that has been said above 
on the subject. When the food is insufficient or 
unsuitable in character, there is a proportionate waste 
in the food of support. The loss from this source is, 
in the aggregate, very great, and this applies more or 
less to every state and to all countries where live stock 
is kept. It has also been shown that when the food 
fed is entirely suitable, but given in excess, there is 



NUTRITION. 213 

waste and consequently loss through the lack of ability 
on the part of the animals to which it is fed to digest 
and assimilate it properly. It has further been shown 
that food too concentrated impairs digestion and re- 
sults in loss. The best results are obtained when 
the food is exactly adapted in character and quality to 
the present needs of the animal. The importance 
of an intelligent understanding of all the principles 
that bear upon the feeding of animals by those who 
feed them is thus strikingly apparent. 

Nutrition and the Improvement of Breeds. — 
Nutrition has a marked effect on the improvement 
of breeds. The advantages gained by careful selec- 
tion and breeding in size, vigor, and good digestive 
qualities cannot be maintained without a suitable and 
abundant nutrition. Too many illustrations of this 
fact may be cited from the rapid degeneration of 
pure-breds of good form and faultless breeding in 
the hands of owners who have not cared for them 
properly. Nutrition alone will not lift breeds to 
a higher standard, in the absence of suitable breed- 
ing and selection. Nor will these lift breeds to a 
higher standard in the absence of a suitable nutrition. 
The three go hand in hand wherever improvement 
made is to be maintained and wherever further im- 
provement is to be made. 

Nutrition and the Coat of Animals. — The char- 
acter of the coat and handling in animals is a good 
indication of the character of the nutrition. The 
coat and the skin underneath it are nourished through 
the medium of the blood vessels beneath the latter, 
that is to say ; through the medium of an active cir- 
culation. This circulation sustains the sebaceous 
glands and stimulates them into action in proportion 



214 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

as it is strong or weak. These glands in turn oil 
the skin, so to speak, and the hair which covers it. 
The active circulation is the outcome of a vigorous 
digestion and correct food assimilation, growing out 
of good digestion, hence, when assimilation is active, 
the handling of the skin will be soft, mellow, pliant, 
and elastic, and the coat will be plentiful, glossy and 
soft to the touch. When the assimilation is of the 
opposite character, indications the opposite are found 
in the hide and hair. But the skin and coat will be 
further discussed in the respective chapters which 
bear upon quality and the coat, that is to sav, in 
Chapters XVIII. and XIX. 



CIIAPTEK XVIII. 

QUALITY IN LIVE STOCK. 

Tins chapter will be devoted to the discussion 
of a term that has been used for many years by those 
who grow live stock and who deal in the same. The 
reference is to the term "quality." Those who use 
the term have doubtless some well defined idea of 
what it expresses to them, but, since it has various 
shades of meaning, as will be shown below, the idea 
intended to be conveyed may in many instances 
be obscure to the persons addressed. Because of those 
various shades of meaning and the loose sense in 
which the term is used, it should be given more than 
a passing notice. 

TJic Term Quality Frequently Used. — So fre- 
quently has the term quality been used by the breed- 
ers of -live stock, and so frequently is it used, that 
it may not be longer ignored when discussing the ques- 
tion of animal breeding. As implied from what has 
been said above, it has been variously used and not 
always with due precision. Those who write on live 
stock in the agricultural press are constantly using 
it and in nearly all instances in an indefinite way, 
that is to say, they refer to an idea that is prominent 
in their own mind while the reader may have a some- 
what different apprehension of their meaning. Such 
misapprehension may readily arise from the various 
shades of meaning which the term may be made to 
convev, as will be shown below. Because of those 



216 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

differences in application of which the term is sus- 
ceptible, and of the very loose and careless way in 
which it is used, the need is urgent that an attempt 
be made to deiine its meaning or meaning's with 
some degree of accuracy. As a result of the free and 
easy way in which the term has been used and of the 
many shades of meaning which it may be made to ex- 
press to the average mind, it is surrounded with a 
mist that ought to be dispelled. 

Quality and Ripeness in Animals. — In some in- 
stances the term quality has been used in comparing 
animals when ready for the block. When thus used 
it has reference to the amount of flesh as compared 
with the offal and to the distribution and ripeness 
of the same. The contrast in the relative amounts 
of flesh and offal respectively, that is to say, in the 
amounts of dressed meat and offal respectively, is 
very great. The same is true of the way in which 
the flesh is distributed over the body. In some ani- 
mals the- relative weight of the good cuts, as for in- 
stance, the loin, is large, and of the cheap cuts, as 
the neck, is light, and in other instances the opposite 
is true. Now when the term quality is used with 
reference to these features of the body, alive or dead, 
it means that in them the proportion of meat to the 
offal and of good meat to that less valuable is large 
in both instances. 

A ripe condition of flesh is that which cannot 
be profitably improved upon by further feeding. Its 
indications are a good covering of flesh on the portions 
more usually bare and more particularly firmness of 
flesh. The extent of the covering, however, on the 
more bare parts will vary much with the character of 
the animal. When the animal is ripe, there will be 



QUALITY IN LITE STOCK. 217 

a resistance to gentle pressure on the fleshy portion 
that is not found in unfinished animals. The degree 
of the resistance will be proportional to the degree of 
the ripeness, but it is also increased somewhat by age. 
The idea of ripeness therefore arises through the 
sensation of touch rather than through the medium of 
the eye. 

Quality and Present Thrift of Animals. — Qual- 
ity in other instances has been used to denote present 
condition as to thrift or well doing. For instance, 
when an animal is lean in flesh and rough in coat, 
that is to say, what is frequently termed "'out of 
condition," it is said to be off in quality. Such an 
application of the term, however, should be made 
with great caution, if indeed it should be made at all, 
as these conditions may arise from neglect, and 
may not therefore be incompatible with the highest 
quality. And just here it may be stated that the 
ability to detect the indications of future well-doing 
in such animals, that is, the indications of high feed- 
ing qualities, bespeaks a skill and judgment that are 
found all too seldom among those who feed and breed 
live stock. 

Quality and ]YeU-Doing. — In yet other instances 
the term quality has been used to denote capacity for 
well-doing, as indicated chiefly by what are termed 
the ''handling qualities." This is perhaps the most 
common use made of the term. These are readily 
cognizant to the sense of touch and they furnish the 
most tangible and important index of good digestion 
and assimilation. Just exactly what is meant by 
good handling cannot be easily explained in words 
and for the reason that it is an indication that is dis- 
cerned through the medium of touch. An exact idea 



218 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

of the sensation thus conveyed by tonch must be felt, 
to be fully understood, hence the impossibility of 
showing exactly what it means by the use of language. 
But enough may be said to enable the individual to 
get the idea approximately, hence the justification for 
dwelling on this question in the paragraph that im- 
mediately follows. A thorough knowledge of what is 
meant by good handling can only be secured through 
correct teaching followed up bv much experience or 
practice in handling animals. 

Handling Qualities Defined. — By good handling 
qualities is meant those indications of good digestion 
cognizant to the sense of touch, as for instance: — 

1. A hide of medium thickness for the breed, 
which sways readily under gentle lateral pressure, 
more especially over the ribs, and which when grasped 
on that part will readily fill the hand. When making 
this test place the inside of the hand and especially of 
the fore-fingers flatly over the ribs. Press gently and, 
while doing so, move the hand back and forth laterally 
on the side, with a rather quick movement. When the 
handling is good, the skin will vibrate or tremble 
over much of, or the whole of, the space covered by 
the ribs. It does so because it rests on a well oiled 
cushion of glandular substance underneath, and this 
condition is the outcome of active secretions, which 
in turn are the outcome of good digestion and good 
assimilation. If the handling is not good, there will 
be but little vibration. But in making this test, the 
animal should stand straight. If the head and neck 
turn toward the individual making the test, it will 
appear unduly favorable, but if turned in the opposite 
direction not sufficiently favorable. Then catch the 
skin over the ribs between the thumb and two fingers 



QUALITY IN LIVE STOCK. 219 

and lift it up from the side. The proportional ease 
with which this can be done is the indication of the 
character of the handling. Or, grasp the skin gently 
in the Avhole hand. The more easily the hand is filled 
the stronger indication is it of good quality. In poor 
handling animals the skin cannot be grasped, as it 
will not lift up from the flesh underneath. The test 
of handling over the ribs, as thus described, is the 
most readily made and it is also one of the most re- 
liable tests of quality. But the present condition of 
the animal as to flesh exerts an influence. This test 
is however sufficiently accurate to furnish in itself 
a reasonably safe guide as to the quality of an animal. 
The thickness of the hide is largely influenced ' by 
the breed. The average Hereford for instance has a 
somewhat thicker hide than the average Shorthorn. 
A reasonable degree of thickness in the hide is not 
objectionable, providing it handles well. A hide 
inclining to strong is one indication of constitution. 
A thin "papery" hide is objectionable as, it is fre- 
quently associated with forms inclining to spareness 
and delicacy. 

2. These indications further signify an impres- 
sibility and elasticity of flesh on various parts of the 
body under gentle pressure. This is measurably true 
of the flesh on every part of the body, but there are 
some parts of the same where the indications are 
more readily apparent, that is to say, where judgment 
may more easily be made in regard to them, as for 
instance, the covering of the ribs already referred to, 
the loin and the shoulder blades. If these are covered 
with flesh impressible and elastic, they furnish the 
assurance that other parts of the body will be properly 
covered, since the parts which are most difficult to 



220 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

cover with suitable flesh are those just named. But 
due allowance ought to be made for the degree of 
flesh which the animal carries as a whole. If it is 
lean, these parts cannot be well covered. When the 
more muscular parts of the body, as the hips and 
buttock, are thus subjected to gentle pressure of the 
finger tips, and they show much of impressibility with 
but little of elasticity, there k too much of a leaning 
in the meat to what may be termed nabbiness in 
character. If in an unfattened animal there is but 
little impressibility, the meat will be over-fibrous, and 
the carcass wanting in power of expansiveness, but 
here again the character of the food given will exercise 
an influence that may tend to mislead the judgment. 
A diet too succulent tends to the production of muscle 
too soft, and a diet too dry to the production of muscle 
too firm. 

3. The indications of good handling also include 
a soft and mossy coat, agreeable to the sense of touch 
and withal abundant. The abundance of the hair, its 
softness and mossiness are largely but not entirely 
the outcome of good digestion, hence, the importance 
attached to them as indications of digestion. When 
nutrition is wanting, the coat will become dry and 
harsh to the sense of touch. When cattle are on a 
poor diet in winter, as of straw, the hair becomes stiff 
and inclines to stand at right angles to the body. Af- 
ter the same animals have been out on pasture for 
a time, the new hair which pushes off the old becomes 
glossy and lies closer to the skin as a result of its 
greater pliancy. Contrast also the glossy character 
of the hair of a young man or maiden as compared 
with the dry character of the same in old age. 

Quality in its Widest Sense. — Quality in its 



QUALITY IN LIVE STOCK. 221 

widest sense has reference to capacity for well-doing 
as previously intimated, or for fulfilling in a high 
degree the end for which the animal is designed. In 
this broad nse of the term, quality is simply another 
name for capacity. When thus used it will include: 
1, the form of the body and the relation of the differ- 
ent parts to one another ; 2, the character of the flesh 
and the distribution of the same; 3, the nervous 
temperament ; and 4, the nature of the covering of the 
body including the skin. Quality therefore in its 
most comprehensive sense may be defined as an aggre- 
gation of good properties, but as ordinarily used it 
more commonly has reference to the handling qual- 
ities as described in the preceding section. 

Quality Different in Different Species. — The in- 
dications of quality in the different species of ani- 
mals are not always identical, nor are they always 
identical in different classes of the same species. 
They will differ somewhat in the dairy cow and in 
the beef producer, as will be shown below. They are 
not the same precisely in the sheep as in the hog, nor 
Avill they be exactly the same in either of the three 
classes of cattle. In the discussion that will now be 
submitted of the essentials of quality as belonging 
to these different classes of animals, the term will 
be used in the broad sense. 

Quality in Beef Cattle. — The chief indications 
of quality in beef cattle include: 1, certain requi- 
sites of form essential to a high order of beef produc- 
tion (see p. 286) ; 2, good handling qualities; and 3, 
a quiet disposition (see p. 297). Correct form is not, 
strictly speaking, so much of a quality in itself as 
an essential 'to quality in the sense in which the word 
is more commonly used, for, with good form in a 



222 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

beef animal, the value of good handling would pro- 
portionately be discounted as good form was wanting. 
Likewise a quiet disposition is an attribute or char- 
acteristic rather than a quality, as the term is usually 
applied to animals, and yet in beef production it en- 
hances the value of good handling qualities as correct 
form does, in proportion as it is present, for a restless 
animal does not fatten so readily as one not thus rest- 
less, other things being equal. 

Quality in Dairy Cattle. — The chief indications 
of quality in dairy cattle include : 1, certain requi- 
sites of form essential to milk production of a high 
order (see p. 287) ; good handling qualities though 
not necessarily so marked as in beef animals ; 2, indi- 
cations of sufficient nerve power (see page 297) ; and 
3, good development of the lacteal system (see page 
287). In beef animals the other essentials, in a sense, 
center in the handling qualities, in milk production 
they center in the leading indications of free milk 
elaboration, that is to say, free milk production. 
Without these, good handling qualities will not avail, 
as these may be quite as much present when the lead- 
ing indications of milk production are absent as when 
the opposite is true. In other words they may be 
quite as much present in a dairy cow inclined to beef 
production as in a dairy cow inclined to milk produc- 
tion. 

Handling qualities in a dairy cow are not so im- 
portant relatively as in a beef cow as an indication of 
fitness for the end for which each is kept. The im- 
portant place given to nerve power among essentials 
in a dairy cow should be duly noticed. These indica- 
tions strongly accentuated are antagonistic to beef 
production, being the opposite of that quiet disposi- 



QUALITY IN LIVE STOCK. 223 

tion so essential to fattening qualities of a high order 
in the beef animal. 

Quality in Sheep. — The chief indications of 
quality in sheep include : 1, certain requisites of 
form, essential to making good mutton freely (see 
p. 286), and 2, good handling qualities, including a 
pinkish color of the skin and lustrous wool possessed 
of a plentiful supply of yolk (see p. 288). Handling 
qualities in sheep are not ascertained in quite the 
same way as those in cattle. On the body generally 
they are sought through gentle pressure of the fingers 
laid flat on the part of the animal being examined 
rather than through pressure of the finger tips. Such 
handling would mar the appearance of the well trim- 
med fleece, more especially in the medium and fine 
wooled breeds. In applying the handling over the 
ribs the hand may be placed flatly on the same as in 
cattle and moved laterally or back and forth over the 
side, but it would not answer to try and fill the hand 
with skin, as in cattle, or even to grasp it hot ween the 
finger and thumb as sheep are so easily injured. The 
handling is ascertained chiefly through the covering 
of the essential parts, the elasticity of the flesh, and 
readiness of vibration in the skin under gentle lateral 
pressure over the ribs. The pinkish color of the skin 
is one indication of present good health. When 
sheep are out of health the skin becomes pale from 
a defective nutrition. But in some instances the skin 
may be dark as a breed or type characteristic and yet 
be perfectly healthy. 

The wool is an important indicator of present 
and past well doing or the opposite. If it has not been 
well nourished at any time the fiber will be weak just 
at that point where the nutrition w T as defective in 



224 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

the growth of the wool. When nutrition is ample, 
which of course is a consequent of good food and good 
digestion, the wool will be as indicated, lustrous and 
amply supplied with yolk. When lustrous, that is, 
when it is bright, in a sense shining, it is also strong. 
Ample yolk indicates active secretions. 

Quality in Swine. — The chief indications of 
quality in swine include : 1, certain requisites of 
form essential to the production of a large quantity 
of meat on the more valuable parts (see p. 286), and 
2, good handling qualities. Good handling' qualities 
in swine differ materially from those in cattle and 
sheep. The handling in the former relates more to 
the hair than to the skin. The skin should be smooth 
and clean and not inclined to the production of scurf 
or scales. If the digestion is good, these will be 
practically absent when the food supplies are suitable 
and ample. The skin in swine hugs the flesh more 
closely than in cattle and sheep, hence to the sense of 
touch it is not so important an indicator of quality. 
But to the sense of sight it is an important indicator 
of the same as has been shown. Handling in swine 
therefore as an indicator of quality relates, chiefly to 
the hair. The brighter it is and the more pliant and 
strong, the better does it indicate quality. These are 
to be taken together rather than separately, as hair 
may be plentiful and dull rather than bright, and it 
may be pliant and yet too weak. Hair such as in- 
dicated in swine goes along with size, thrift and vigor. 
Coarse bristly hair is objectionable, since it indicates 
lack of refinement in breeding and coarseness in the 
grain of the flesh. 

Indications of Quality Not Clearly Apparent at 
Birth. — The indications of quality are not so clearly 



QUALITY IN LIVE STOCK. 225 

apparent at birth as at a later period, since good di- 
gestion is one of the most important requisites in 
evidencing quality, and some time must transpire be- 
fore the exact character of the digestion can be ascer- 
tained. At birth it may be apparently correct, but 
the degree of its power cannot be ascertained until 
demonstrated by the results. Forceful assimilative 
power does not always accompany large food consump- 
tion, and digestion that is all that can be desired. 
Xor can form be judged of accurately when it is 
judged prospectively, especially when near the birth 
period. Animals change in relative development with 
advancing age. Hence it is, that a calf or a lamb 
of great promise at birth, frequently gives place at a 
later period of development to one of less promise. 
In a litter of young pigs those of most perfect sym- 
metry and plumpest form are frequently left in the 
race of subsequent development by others of less 
promise. Because of these changes in relative de- 
velopment, experienced breeders prefer not to select 
animals for future breeding at any age quite near the 
birth period. In fact the longer the choice can be 
deferred up to the age when breeding may begin, the 
more certain are the assurances of correctness in 
choice. 

Quality More Frequent in Well Bred Animals. — 
Quality is more frequent in well bred animals than 
in those of common or mixed breeding. It is so 
because the former have been reared with a view to 
secure the capacity for well doing in a high degree. 
In other words more attention has been given to the 
presence of quality in the former when making the 
selections. It, is only reasonable that it should be so, 
since the former are more valuable and therefore 



226 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

should be selected with greater care, and the guaranty 
of quality through inheritance from the ancestry 
can be more readily ascertained. Nevertheless there 
js much difference in the quality of animals bred 
alike, even in those possessed of blood precisely sim- 
ilar. It has been shown that this also is true of rel- 
ative form' in the same (see p. 37), and of relative 
prepotency (see p. 106). In each instance, much 
obscurity hangs over the reasons for those differences, 
but a partial explanation is probably furnished by 
the condition of the parents at the time of mating, 
and of the dam during the period of maternity. 

Quality arid Quantity. — With reference to qual- 
ity, the aim should be to secure the largest quantity 
and of the best quality in the same animal. Not in- 
frequently animals deficient in size are possessed of 
good quality, and yet they are not the most profitable 
from lack of capacity for development. Much differ- 
ence of opinion has existed in the past with reference 
to the standard size that will best represent various 
breeds, and so it may be in the future. It would 
seem to be a simple solution of this question to say, 
that the more of size the better in the individual ani- 
mal, and in the breed, so loug as it is not obtained at 
the expense of quality. Thus it is that size standards 
may properly shift with changed conditions of en- 
vironment. It is not so easy perhaps to secure and 
maintain good quality in large as in small animals, 
but since the food of maintenance is less relatively 
in large animals, it would seem commendable to try 
to secure them possessed of all the size compatible 
with the retention of high quality. 

Recognizing Quality in Animals. — It is an in- 
dispensable requisite in the successful breeder and 



QUALITY IN LIVE STOCK. 227 

feeder to be an apt judge as to the presence or absence 
of quality in live stock. Several reasons may be ad- 
vanced in support of this view : — 

1. Animals not possessed of high quality should 
not be selected or retained for breeding. The indi- 
vidual who is not apt in recognizing quality cannot 
therefore judge correctly as to what should be selected 
for future breeding or as to what should be discarded. 

2. When store animals, that is to say nnfattened 
animals, though ready for being fattened are pur- 
chased for the block, quality has to be relied upon 
almost entirely as the basis of selection, since reliable 
information cannot usually be obtained as to the exact 
breeding of the same. Quality in the broad sense of 
the term should therefore govern in the selection of 
these animals. But, in the absence of the knowledge 
of what constitutes high quality, it cannot be thus 
applied. It is always more satisfactory when the 
stock thus purchased can be tested by handling, but 
in purchasing animals reared under range or semi- 
range conditions, this cannot be done. In these 
quality must be judged chiefly by the eye. 

3. Where large profits are looked for from the 
rearing or feeding of animals deficient in quality, 
disappointment will almost invariably follow. The 
only exceptions will be when animals are purchased 
for feeding and when the conditions of purchase and 
sale and of feeding have been exceptionally favorable. 
Bnt with animals of good quality, the results would 
have been just so much the more favorable. 

4. When animals deficient in quality do appear 
in a herd or flock, the aim should be to send them to 
the block, and at an early age. Supplanting them 
with animals possessed of quality will show better 
business judgment. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

THE COAT AND THE INFLUENCES WHICH 
AFFECT IT. 

The difference in the character of the covering 
of animals of the same species is very great. Take for 
instance the sheep. In some of its varieties the wool 
fibers have attained the length of fully eighteen inches 
in one year, whereas in others it is said that they do 
not exceed one inch in the same time. And the 
difference of the fibers in relative coarseness and fine- 
ness is no less marked. These differences are not 
accidental, but result from causes which are the out- 
come of influences natural and artificial that produce 
them. It will be the aim in this chapter to discuss 
the more important of the influences that produce 
variation in the covering of animals. 

Tlte Term Coat Defined. — In the discussion of 
this question, -the term coat is used to denote the skin 
and that which covers it, whether hair or wool. The 
relations between these are so close and intimate, that 
what affects the former will, in many instances, affect 
the latter. For instance, the skin handles nicely when 
the secretions are active. They then form that soft 
cushion under it which makes vibration of the skin 
so easy under pressure from the hand. When these 
conditions prevail the underlying blood vessels and the 
sebaceous glands are active. When these are active, 
the hair or wool fibers, as the case may be, are well 
fed and oiled, with the result, that they are attractive 
to the eve and pleasant to the touch. The condition 



THE COAT AND INFLUENCES AFFECTING IT. 229 

of the skin, therefore, cannot be improved without im- 
proving the condition of the coat, and generally speak 
ing the opposite of this is also true. 

Two Classes of Influences Affect the Coat. — The 
influences which affect the coat of animals may be 
divided into two classes, viz., those which are internal 
and which may be said to properly belong to the ani- 
mal itself, and those which are external and come 
from outside sources without regard to the inherent 
qualities of the animals. These influences are further 
discussed bcloAv. Usually these two classes of in- 
fluences act in unison. For instance, heredity, an 
internal influence, may transmit hair fine and dense in 
character, and cold, an external influence, may further 
intensify the tendency to fineness and density in 
the hair. But sometimes they act antagonistically, 
as when heredity may transmit fine and dense wool, 
and weather excessively hot tends to thin the fibers 
and to render them less dense. The measure there- 
fore of the relative strength of those influences cannot 
be accurately taken. It will be a quantity that will 
continually vary with varying conditions. 

Internal Influences Which Affect the Coat. — 
The chief of the internal influences which affect the 
coat are: 1. Those which come through heredity. 
2. Those that come through digestion and food as- 
similation. And 3. Those which come through sex. 
as such. Here also it may not be easy to say how 
much of the influence exerted may be due to each 
of these factors. The character of the digestion and 
food assimilation, for instance, are largely the out- 
come of heredity, hence, in a sense, a part of the 
influence exerted by these should, strictly speaking, be 
credited to heredity, but how much, in a given case, 



230 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

cannot be accurately determined. These influences 
will be further discussed separately. 

External Influences Which Affect the Coat. — 
The chief of the external influences which affect the 
coat include : 1 . Exposure to cold, heat, sunshine 
and moisture. 2. Protection from adverse influences. 
And 3. The character and quantity of the food. It 
was stated above that the various influences affecting 
the coat sometimes act antagonistically. Whenever 
this happens the aim should be so to neutralize any 
antagonism between influences through the aid of 
artificial environment, that these will not be greatly 
harmful. It is also eminently wise to try to har- 
monize the ends sought with reference to the hide 
and its covering, that these will be in unison with the 
natural environment of the locality in which the ani- 
mals are grown. 

To illustrate : It would not be wise to try to 
grow a covering for cattle in a hot climate such 
as would be suited to the needs of Galloway or West 
Highland cattle in their native home. The influ- 
ence of natural environment cannot be too carefully 
considered in all its details. Though the cattle just 
named were introduced into latitudes equally cold but 
less moist, it would be found difficult to sustain the 
length of the outer coat in them, notwithstanding the 
ease with which density in the inner coat could be 
sustained. 

Influence of Heredity on the Coat. — The pe- 
culiarities of hide, hair and wool which distinguish 
the breeds as such, and also certain families of the 
same, are largely due to heredity. The hide of the 
West Highland cattle for instance is thicker than 
that of the Hereford, and the hide of the Hereford 



THE COAT AND INFLUENCES AFFECTING IT. 231 

thicker than that of the Shorthorn. The reference 
here is to breeds rather than to individuals, for these 
differences may not be always true of the latter. The 
West Highland cattle have a denser coat than the 
Devons, and also one that is longer ; the contrast in 
density and length of fleece between Cotswold and 
American Merino breeds of sheep is very great, and 
the difference in the hair on the well fed Poland 
China pig and tlie vagrant razorback is marked. 

Again, certain families of the ITerefords have 
the hair more curled than others, certain families of 
Merino sheep have folds and wrinkles on the skin 
more numerous than others, and certain families of 
Yorkshire swine have the hair more plentiful and 
fine than others. Such inheritance, however, does 
not preclude the conjoined action of several of the 
influences named^or indeed of all of those of a char- 
acter which makes it possible for them to act in con- 
junction in the establishment of these peculiarities. 
For instance, exposure to cold and damp weather 
along with certain peculiarities of food acting on the 
digestion, are largely responsible for producing the 
thick hide, the fine thick under coat, and the long 
shaggy outer coat that characterize the West Highland 
cattle, but the transmission of these is due to heredity, 
and the further fact that these peculiarities appear in 
some families of the breed in greater degree than in 
others, is also to be charged up to the same influence. 
It is easy to see therefore how 'these qualities may 
become intensified or otherwise through careful selec- 
tion and breeding. 

Influence of Digestion and Food Assimilation 
on the Coat. — The hide and hair, like other parts of 
the physical structure, are nourished through the 



232 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

medium of the circulatory system. The circulation 
will be active in proportion as the vital forces are 
vigorous, as the food is suitable in kind, as the 
digestion is correct and as the secretions do their 
work well. Every part of the system appropriates 
materials suited to its growth or maintenance in plen- 
tiful supply, with the result, that all parts of the 
system are well sustained as long as food supplies 
are suitable and properly given. When the other 
conditions are right, such animals possess good hand- 
ling qualities (see p. 218). For the more particular 
influence exerted on the coat by food (see p. 213). 

Influence of Sex on the Coat. — As a rule males 
have somewhat thicker hides and a coarser and strong- 
er coat than females. The reasons for such peculiar- 
ities of structure and the precise causes which produce 
them are but little understood. The fact however 
cannot be disputed that the greatest strength and 
vigor of body are in some sense associated with what 
may be termed a strong hide and strong hair. Thus 
it was that the targe of the Scottish clans was covered 
preferably with the hide of bulls. On certain parts of 
the body, as the crest for instance, these conditions 
are intensified. The crest of the bull has stronger 
hair than is found on the top line of the neck of 
the cow, and the top line of the neck of the boar has 
stronger, coarser and longer hair than the same in 
the sow, and these peculiarities frequently charac- 
terize more or less the covering of the whole head and 
neck. Long wavy hair about the head, neck, shoulders 
and also other parts of the Galloway and West High- 
land cattle is more pronounced in the males than in 
the females, and doubtless the microscope would dis- 
cover the same contrasts in the wool of males and fe- 



THE (OAT AND INFLUENCES AFFECTING IT. 233 

males of the various breeds of. sheep, even of those 
that produce the finest wool. 

These exist in consonance with that law which 
associates more of strong development and less of 
refinement with masculinity. The coat of castrated 
animals occupies an intermediate place, and is influ- 
enced more or less by the age at which the castration 
is done. The earlier that males are castrated the 
more nearly do they resemble females in coat and 
hide, and the later they are castrated the more nearly 
do they resemble uncastrated males in their char- 
acteristics. But, though castration is done at an age 
quite early, the male so castrated has less of average 
refinement in this particular than the female. The 
exact ways in which creative and developing forces 
thus influence the coat in virtue of the sex as such, 
and in virtue of castration and noncastration in 
males, are as yet among the inscrutable things. 

Influence of Cold on the Coat. — Cold tends to 
thicken the coat, and when the animals are subjected 
to certain forms of privation it has the further ten- 
dency to strengthen it, that is to make it longer and 
probably thicker, but at the sacrifice of flesh. In the 
polar bear the hair is thick. The same is true of fur- 
bearing animals that frequent northern waters. Na- 
ture has thus made provision for protection from the 
cold. When animals under domestication are much 
exposed to inclement weather, the hair in time be- 
comes longer and thicker than when they are shielded 
from the same in a marked degree. Such increase 
in the development of the coat, however, is made at 
the sacrifice of flesh, at least in some degree, since 
a portion of the materials that would otherwise be 
used in making' muscle is diverted to strengthening 



234 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

the hide and hair. Thus it is that the hair of animals 
ill nourished in winter and much exposed becomes 
stronger, notwithstanding that the} 7 shrink much in 
flesh. In some instances the exposure produces a 
double coat of hair, as it were, an upper and an under 
one, the upper being long and wavy or shaggy, and 
the under one fine like fur. Such is the coat of 
Galloway cattle and also of some other animals in 
northern exposures. 

Influence of Heat on the Coat. — Heat consider- 
ed in itself, tends to shorten the coat, and to reduce 
it in closeness, as Avitnessed in the covering of sheep 
in hot countries. It also tends to increase the coarse- 
ness of the fiber. But too much must not be made of 
the influence of either heat or cold acting singly, since 
some of the fine wooled breeds are native to countries 
with high summer temperatures, as for instance the 
Merino of Spain. On the other hand some of the 
very coarse wooled breeds are native to bleak climates, 
as for instance, the Black-faced Highland sheep of 
Scotland. Yet the fact remains, that without any 
selection on the part of man, the tendency in hot cli- 
mates is, as stated above, to shorten the wool fibers 
and, more particularly, to lessen density in the same, 
and the tendency in cold climates is just the opposite. 

Influence of Sunshine on the Coat. — Sunshine 
in moderation is helpful to the production of a good 
covering for the body. In excess it gives the outer 
surfaces of the hair a dry, singed appearance. When 
animals are kept entirely shut away from sunlight 
and its influences the whole system will at length be 
affected adversely and, in sympathy with it, the coat 
will lose its accustomed bloom. But on the other 
hand constant exposure to glaring sunlight will pro- 



THE COAT AND INFLUENCES AFFECTING IT. 235 

duce the effects mentioned. Hence it is, that cattle, for 
instance, that are being fitted for exhibition are not 
exposed in the heat of the day, although there is also 
the further reason, that they shall be protected from 
excessive, heat. Undue exposure to very hot sunshine, 
as in the case of pigs but thinly covered with hair, 
will sometimes cause the skin to blister. In this fact 
is found a reason for breeding pigs with a sufficient 
covering of hair to resist such an influence. 

Ififiuence of Moisture on the Coat. — Moisture 
tends to strengthen the fiber of hair and wool, and also 
to lengthen it, as witnessed in the greater length of 
covering relatively on cattle and sheep in Great 
Britain as compared with the same in the drier 
regions of the Central West in the United States and 
Canada. But this idea must not be pressed too far. 
The buffalo which were native to those same regions 
had long and strong coats, and withal dense in the 
under covering, thus admirably fitting them for brav- 
ing the intensity of the cold in winter. Yet the fact 
remains, that under artificial conditions it is easier to 
maintain length and mossiness in the coat of the cattle 
in Great Britain than in the cattle reared between the 
Mississippi river and the Rocky Mountains. The 
character of the food, however, may be quite as much 
responsible for the differences noted as the character 
of the climate. 

Influence of Protection on the Coat. — Judicious 
protection has the effect of refining the coat and of 
rendering it more pliable and mossy. Such protec- 
tion may take the form of housing or of blanketing, 
or of the two, combined. It is necessary to protect 
animals intended for the show ring from undue ex- 
posure to sunshine, prolonged rains and low tempera- 



236 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

tures. The breeders of Merino sheep in Saxony were 
careful to protect their sheep thus when they sought 
much of fineness and pliancy in the wool fibers. It 
is said that they were even careful # to protect them 
from exposure to the dews of night. Cattle and 
sheep that are to be put in high show condition are 
kept much of the time under the cover of light 
blankets, especially as the season for showing ap- 
proaches. The moisture which exudes through the 
pores of the skin is thus retained in the hair to a 
greater degree than it would otherwise be, with 
the result, that a mossiness of touch is given to it and 
also a pliancy that could not be attained in the absence 
of such blanketing. From what has been said regard- 
ing the influences that affect the coat, it will be ap- 
parent that temperate regions are the most favorable 
to the production of what may be termed a desirable 
coat, as well as of a desirable form underneath it. 

Influence of Food on the Coat. — It is probable 
that no one influence affects the coat so much as food. 
Succulent food, when properly nourished and fed 
in due balance, improves the coat by strengthening it, 
and rendering it more abundant, by imparting to it a 
sleek, glossy, and attractive appearance, and by 
rendering it soft, pliant, and mossy to the touch. 
This influence is much in evidence in the spring of 
the year, when cattle have been changed from dry 
and ill balanced winter diet to a diet of succulent 
and nutritious grasses. The old hair will loosen and 
fall off much more quickly than if they had still been 
maintained on the winter diet just referred to. The 
new coat will also be much more abundant than under 
the other conditions and it will possess more of that 
luster and glossiness which adds so much to the at- 



THE COAT AND INFLUENCES AFFECTING IT. 237 

tractiveness of the coat. The favorable influence ex- 
erted on the coat from the liberal feeding of field 
roots in winter furnishes an illustration of the benefit 
to the coat resulting from feeding succulent food at 
that season. But it is possible, under some conditions, 
to secure these desirable qualities in the coat without 
feeding' succulent foods, although it is not so easy 
to do so, nor can they be so well maintained in the ab- 
sence of succulent foods. When these conditions are 
secured in the absence of what may be termed succu- 
lent foods, it is through the specific action of certain 
foods on digestion in the animals to which they are 
fed, and through digestion on the coat. 

For instance, to feed steamed barley for a time 
exerts a favorable influence on the coat of horses. 
Oil meal and linseed meal properly fed will affect 
favorably the coat of all kinds of animals. The same 
is true of skim milk, but its best effects are probably 
seen in the improvement which it effects in the coat 
of swine. A deficiency in the quantity of the food 
has the effect of lengthening the coat to protect the 
animal in the absence of a sufficient supply of animal 
heat. But such increase in the coat is secured at the 
expense of development in other directions. Irregu- 
larity in food supplies strengthens and weakens alter- 
nately the fiber in wool. It probably exerts a similar 
influence in degree on the hairs that cover other ani- 
mals, but less in degree because of the slower growth 
in the same. The value of wool affected thus is much 
impaired. 

An excess of carbonaceous food destroys the 
handling qualities of an animal, through the medium 
of deranged' digestion. When cattle have been thus 
fed the hide is less pliant and the hair loses its bloom. 



238 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

It also becomes more harsh to the touch. Both hair 
and hide are insufficiently nourished notwithstanding 
the abundance of the food supplies as specified. 

Jloxv Influences that Affect the Coat May Act. — 
Several of these influences may be operative at the 
same time. For instance, suppose that a cattle beast 
is come of an ancestry noted for the excellent char- 
acter of the covering that they possessed. Suppose 
that in winter they are given a diet in which turnips 
and oil-cake are prominent factors, and suppose that 
at the same time they are kept sufficiently protected 
from the cold by proper housing and suitable blanket- 
ing. In the instance supposed, all these factors exert 
a favorable influence on the coat. They act in con- 
junction but it is not possible at the same time to 
determine exactly the proportionate influence exerted 
by each. Suppose cattle are fed chiefly on straw 
in one instance and unprotected, and in another in- 
stance they are fed and exposed similarly, with the 
difference that in the second instance a liberal diet 
of turnips is given. The coat of the cattle to which 
the turnips are fed will be much superior to that of 
those fed straw only. Here then is an illustration of 
the power exerted by a single influence. 

The Best Coat. — The best coat is that which is 
best adapted to the wants of the animal subject to the 
conditions under which it must be kept, and to the 
needs of the market when it has a market value. A 
sheep for instance may have wool which keeps it in 
the highest comfort possible in a certain country, and 
the said wool may bring the highest price in the 
market because of its adaptability to the needs of the 
manufacturers of that country, and yet it would be 
easily possible to find countries in which these con- 



THE COAT AND INFLUENCES AFFECTING IT. 239 

ditions would be reversed if the attempt was made 
to rear the breed in these. An excess of hair or wool 
t>eyond the requirements of the animal for protection 
is an unnecessary drain upon the system. It is differ- 
ent with wool because of its relatively high market 
value. But the production of wool should not be so 
stimulated as to bring positive discomfort to the ani- 
mals because of its length or density. On the other 
hand an insufficiency in the covering as is sometimes 
found in the case of pigs is a serious mistake. 



CHAPTER XX. 

THE INFLUENCE OF ARTIFICIAL CONDITIONS. 

Animals in a state of nature dwell amid sur- 
roundings which nature has furnished them with, and 
which in themselves they have no power to change. 
When subjected to the human race, even when in the 
savage state, the conditions are somewhat changed, 
and these changed conditions bring along with them 
corresponding changes in the animals, and the only 
limit to these changes is the limit of the change in the 
conditions. The influence of these conditions there- 
fore is worthy of the most careful consideration. 

Artificial Conditions Defined. — Artificial con- 
ditions are those changed conditions of life to which 
animals are subjected, as compared with those sur- 
rounding them in a state of nature. Those conditions 
therefore are such as man has made or may make 
for the animals under his care, and to which 
he may subject them. The only limit to these 
changes so far as their creation is concerned is 
the limit of man's ingenuity. And the only limit 
to their successful application is the limit of the sus- 
ceptibility of the animals to improve under the con- 
ditions to which they are subjected. Here then is a 
wide sea in which the breeders of live stock may 
virtually sail forever. 

The chief of these influences are such as relate 
to food, shelter, exercise, habit and selection in breed- 
ing. The gap that separates the various breeds of 



INFLUENCE OF ARTIFICIAL CONDITIONS. 241 

wild animals in a state of nature and improved is a 
very wide one, as instanced in the wild hog and the 
same domesticated. The bridging over of this gap is 
due to the influence of artificial conditions, hence it 
would not be putting it too strongly to say that all or 
nearly all the improvement made in the various breeds 
of live stock is due to the influence of those conditions. 
But the fact should not be lost sight of, that artificial 
conditions can be carried to such an extreme, that 
deterioration rather than improvement may follow. 
The breeders of Saxony subjected the Saxon Merino 
to conditions of keep so artificial that they injured 
stamina in the same. The improvers of Longhorn 
cattle inbred them to such an extent and managed 
them otherwise so artificially that retrogression rather 
than advance came to them. 

The breeders of dairy cattle during those decades, 
when prolonged confinement in stables in the winter 
season was popular, reaped as a result a greatly in- 
creased harvest of tuberculosis. So greatly has dis- 
ease been created and disseminated because of artifi- 
cial conditions, that it would not be stating the fact too 
strongly to say, that nearly all the maladies that afflict 
domestic animals, and the degree of the virulence of 
such is due to the artificial conditions to which live 
stock have been subjected. This great lever to the 
improvement of domestic animals that has come to 
man, if not used with discretion, may easily be turned 
into a boomerang that will bring disastrous results 
out of well intentioned effort. 

Seeking Improvement Through Artificial Con- 
ditions. —When the attempt is made to improve live 
stock through artificial treatment, improvement 
should be sought first in those lines in consonance with 



242 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

the original constitution, and second, without doing 
violence to any of those principles concerned in the 
maintenance of sufficient stamina. The attempt to 
ingraft the leading traits of the dog for instance upon 
the pig, would be labor expended to but little purpose 
as intimated in Chapter VI., when discussing acquir- 
ed characters. The dog is useful chiefly because 
of the use that can be made of the higher intelligence 
that he possesses. The pig is useful chiefly because of 
the meat which he furnishes in a machine like fash- 
ion. Far better then to seek to turn to still higher 
account the intelligence of the dog by improving him 
still further in teachableness and obedience and in 
the development of physical features as strength or 
swiftness that will enable him to turn these to better 
account, than to try so to change the pig that he will 
render service in-the line that the same is rendered by 
the dog. And yet the fact remains that labor ex- 
pended in improving the intelligence of the pig is not 
all lost. He must be measurably obedient before he 
can become profitable. 

The improvement that can be made without too 
much reducing stamina is a question of conditions. 
It may be thought that it would not be possible to 
have an excess of stamina. That is true, providing it 
can be attained and maintained without interfering 
with development in other important lines. When- 
ever it does so interfere it is excessive. Although in 
breeding domestic animals the reverse is generally 
true, it would be possible to have stamina in excess of 
the needs of the animal as a meat or as a milk pro- 
ducer. For instance, the wild hog has an amount of 
stamina far above the actual needs of the same in 
domestic swine. In the former it is actually neces- 



* INFLUENCE OF ARTIFICIAL CONDITIONS. 243 

sary to enable him to run, to endure and to fight. 
In the latter so much of it would be associated with 
restlessness not in keeping with the highest quality 
of meat making. The razorback still found in some 
parts of this republic furnishes another illustration 
of the same. But stamina may be readily reduced 
beyond that line that would be in keeping with the 
realization of highest profit. This should be guarded 
against. In fact the reduction of stamina has seldom 
or never to be considered in the practice of breeding 
but rather the maintenance of the same. 

The Influence of Food. — Food artificially sup- 
plied more than anything else, probably, has been 
instrumental in the improvement of live stock. In a 
state of nature the energies of the system are largely 
expended in securing food, and the animals are on 
short rations during a portion of the year. When- 
ever an animal not kept for purposes of labor has to 
expend energy in securing food beyond that sufficient 
to keep it in normal health, it is so expended at the 
sacrifice of production in meat or milk, and in some 
instances of both. When the animals are on short 
rations during a part of the year, they lose in flesh 
proportionately, and the loss has to be all made up 
again before any advance in production can begin. 
Wild animals therefore cannot advance beyond a cer- 
tain standard of performance in any direction, and 
that standard will not be a high one. Its measure 
will be the measure of the adaptation in the conditions 
which surround them to their needs. But when suita- 
ble food supplies are furnished regularly and abun- 
dantly the energies of the system are concentrated on 
building up the frame or in useful production, hence 
the standard of improvement may be advanced in- 



244 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

definitely. And when these supplies are suitable in 
kind as well as ample, every feature of development 
is so sustained that one part of the system is not 
built up at the expense of another part as when food 
supplies are short. . 

Suitable and abundant food supplies, aided by 
careful choosing of the breeding animals, have effect- 
ed much improvement in digestion and food assimila- 
tion. In virtue of this second law of breeding, speci- 
mens appear with the evidences of increased digestive 
power. Food adapted to the needs of such makes 
it possible to secure an advance on previous develop- 
ment. It does so by furnishing fuel that drives 
efficiently the whole machinery of digestion and all 
the vital forces of the being. Thus improvement is 
not only secured but the way is opened for still 
further improvement by increasing the capacity for 
the same. There is therefore no limit to the improve- 
ment that may thus be made in domestic animals. 

The character of the food supplies and the proper 
combination are but less important than their abun- 
dance. This fact is apt to be overlooked. The variety 
and the suitability of the food products in Great 
Britain are unquestionably largely responsible for the 
high standard of average excellence in the many 
breeds of live stock grown there. The same is true 
of Ontario in Canada. In the United States and espe- 
cially in the corn and sorghum growing states, the 
clanger exists that because of the super-abundance of 
the production in corn and sorghum, that these will 
be made to form too large a proportion of the entire 
food ration to be compatible with highest develop- 
ment. 

To secure the highest possible development from 



INFLUENCE OF ARTIFICIAL CONDITIONS. 245 

food, it must in every respect be suitable, that is to 
say, it must have the food nutrients in due balance 
and must also have sufficient succulence and digesti- 
bility. And this adaptation in the food is relatively 
more important while the animals are yet short of 
maturity, and less important as the birth period is 
receded from. Suitable variety and the proper blend- 
ing of foods therefore cannot be ignored when stock 
is to be advanced. Happily, with animals under 
domestication, these influences can all be controlled. 
Notwithstanding all the advance that has been made 
in the improvement of live stock, the whole question 
of feeding is yet very imperfectly understood. 

The Influence of Shelter. — Shelter artificially 
provided has proved a potent factor in the improve- 
ment of live stock under domestication. Expose ani- 
mals to cold beyond what may be termed the line of 
comfort, and additional food is wanted to provide 
animal heat. Expose them to storms that produce dis- 
comfort , and the same holds true. In the absence of 
shelter at such times, the excess in food consumption 
over what would otherwise suffice, is just equal to 
the difference between the amount required to sustain 
animal heat under normal conditions and under the 
conditions named. Consequently there will not only 
be the waste in food referred to but the machinery of 
digestion will be necessarily taxed to the extent of the 
energy expended in digesting the afore-mentioned 
excess of food. 

When the exposure is severe and prolonged, high 
attainment in performance cannot be sustained though 
food supplies should be abundant. Too large a pro- 
portion of the food is utilized in defense against the 
cold through the production and maintenance of ani- 



246 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

mal heat. Wliile the aim should be to protect domes- 
tic animals from any exposure to weather that will 
injure them, it is specially important that they shall 
be protected # from cold storms of rain or sleet. The 
latter more or less endanger the health in addition 
to the intensity of the discomfort produced. Dry 
cold, though much more intense, is less injurious in 
every way, and changeful temperatures, especially 
when the changes are violent as in winter in certain 
states far inland, are far more injurious than lower 
temperatures in which the cold is steady. Suitable 
shelter therefore is more of a necessity in the former 
than in the latter. 

But animals require protection not only from 
cold and storms, but from heat and flies, and indeed 
from anything that would cause worry and annoy- 
ance. Protection from heat in many climates is 
far more important than protection from cold. 
Protection from heat means the furnishing of 
shade either indoors or out. Ventilation is also 
necessary with indoor protection. Removing the 
fleece from sheep on the approach of warm weather is 
one of the most important means of protecting them. 
Such protection may call for shearing twice a year, 
at least with some breeds. Darkening the sheds in 
which the animals are kept is the surest means of 
protecting them from flies that has yet been discover- 
ed. But it is scarcely practicable when animals are 
kept in large numbers. The various chemical prepara- 
tions heretofore used as remedies for flies, protect only 
for a short time. The frequency with which they 
have to be renewed makes them expensive. Some 
preparation that would be at once cheap and effective, 
that would not need to be renewed frequently, and 



INFLUENCE OF ARTIFICIAL CONDITIONS. 247 

that Avould not injure the animals on which it is 
applied, would be an inestimable boon to stockmen. 

While protection from undue cold and from 
storms is very necessary, it is at least problematical if 
live stock do not suffer more in the aggregate from 
heat and also from flies than from cold and storms. 
Shelter and protection can only be said to be adequate 
when the animals are protected from causes which 
worry and annoy, or produce any form of discomfort. 
When protection secures this end in the simplest and 
least expensive manner and with the greatest saving 
of labor to the attendants, it is then also likely to be 
economical. But when it promotes discomfort, as, for 
instance, when it produces undue heat along with a 
faulty ventilation, shelter certainly becomes excessive 
and may result in greater harm than good. 

The Influence of Exercise. — Under domestica- 
tion, the degree of exercise given to animals has been 
so modified as to effect great improvement. Exces- 
sive exercise wastes the energies of the system to no 
good purpose, as, for instance, when animals have 
to search unduly for food in sparse pastures. Exer- 
cise may be said to be excessive when it is more than 
is necessary for the maintenance of sufficient stamina. 
It has already been shown that sufficient stamina 
does not necessarily involve the idea of a maximum 
of stamina in the absolute sense of the term, but 
rather the idea of stamina enough to enable animals 
from generation to generation to give a maximum of 
production. On the other hand, insufficient exercise 
weakens the constitution and impairs the breeding 
powers. Immense injury has been brought to domes- 
tic animals' of the more highly improved types by un- 
duly reducing the amount of exercise. That degree 



248 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

of exercise which will be enough will vary with the 
object for which animals are kept. Under domes- 
tication improvement in performance has usually been 
attained by materially reducing the amount of the 
exercise unless when the improvement sought has been 
in the direction of food and labor. The bearing of 
this question on the adaptation of breeds to pastures 
is verj^ direct. The small breeds are less labored 
in their movements than those that are large, hence, 
the wisdom of choosing breeds relatively smaller in 
proportion as the pastures on which they are to 
graze are more sparse. The proper amount of exercise 
will vary with such conditions as the class of the 
stock, the use for which it is kept, size, age, sex and 
present condition. 

Horses and especially brood mares require 
more exercise than other classes of domestic animals, 
since action is more in consonance with the require- 
ments of their being. Even enforced exercise moderate 
in character maybe advantageous in the cases of heavy 
draft mares that are pregnant. Animals used for 
labor require more exercise than animals kept for 
other uses. Breeding animals certainly require more 
exercise than those that are being fattened. Small 
animals exercise more than those that are large. 
Young animals need more than those that are mature. 
In young animals exercise is necessary to develop 
properly the various functions of the being, and to 
keep them healthy and in due equilibrium. Exer- 
cise is on the whole probably more needful for fe- 
males than for males, because of the influence that 
such exercise has upon the development of the foetus. 
But owing to the more restricted conditions under 
which males are sometimes kept, especially stock 



INFLUENCE OF ARTIFICIAL CONDITIONS. 249 

bulls, enforced exercise with them may sometimes be 
advantageous. 

When animals are being fattened some exercise 
is necessary to strengthen the appetite and thus pro- 
mote the consumption of food. The frequency with 
which animals must be exercised depends upon con- 
ditions. Usually breeding animals should be allowed 
to take voluntary exercise every day when the weather 
is suitable. It is not so necessary for animals that 
are being fattened. But when these even can be al- 
lowed to take some exercise daily, under favorable 
conditions, they are probably all the better for it. 
Large liberty to exercise indoors and out is indispen- 
sable to the well being of breeding sheep, and cows 
and brood sows should have the chance to take exer- 
cise outdoors every fair day. 

The Influence of Habit. — The habit of the sys- 
tem of animals under domestication has been so modi- 
fied as to effect great improvement in certain direc- 
tions. Habit is simply, in a sense, another name for 
repetition, continued long enough to secure uniform- 
ity of action, or uniformity in results in one direction. 
Thus it would be correct to say that the uniformity 
in transmission shown by animals long bred pure 
is simply a result of habit repeated sufficiently often 
to secure action in one direction. And this will ap- 
ply to those repetitions in transmission which relate 
to form as well as to function. And as with those 
habits which are the outcome of intelligence in the 
human family, every repetition strengthens the ten- 
dency to further repetition in the same direction. 
Illustrations of such transmission may be found in 
the maintenance and increase of speed in the running 
horse, of milk production in the cow, various kinds 



250 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

of wool in the sheep and sagacity in the shepherd's 
dog. 

Repetition in function aided by careful training 
and careful selection in breeding have made those 
horses what they are. The habit of giving milk in 
the cow for ten months in the year rather than for six 
months has been developed through the repetition 
which persistent milking necessitates. Succession in 
the production of wool of a certain kind through suc- 
cessive years, and it may be centuries, has fixed the 
habit of such wool production with much certainty. 
Sagacity in the shepherd's dog has been so fixed by the 
repetition in sagacious acts, that it has become, as it 
were, an essential part of the being of the dog. And 
thus it is with all the acts which constitute habit, as 
shown in Chapter VI. when treating of acquired 
characters. The increased strength of habit has thus 
been secured through the increased exercise given 
to the organs concerned aided by selection. All such 
advances have been more or less gradual, since time is 
necessary to develop habit in any one direction. By 
thus gradually intensifying the action of habit, as it 
w T ere, through selection, further improvement is se- 
cured. 

The Influence of Selection. — Selection has been 
materially aided in intensifying the various modifica- 
tions of the system secured through the other influ- 
ences that have been named. The only law of selec- 
tion among animals in a state of nature is the law 
of strength, hence, with them change and material 
variation are impossible under normal conditions. 
They are not in any sense subjected to artificial con- 
ditions. But when man steps in he not only seizes 
accidental variations which are likely to prove help- 



INFLUENCE OF ARTIFICIAL CONDITIONS. 251 

ful with a view to perpetuate, them, but he labors 
to produce variations that will be a distinct gain. 
The only decided variations produced by nature are 
accidental, and as ha,s been shown (see p. 43), nature 
cannot perpetuate these. By improving artificial 
conditions, man can secure variation which he may 
use still further in effecting improvement. Thus the 
field which opens to him for improvement has no 
limit. At least it has in itself no limit. The only 
limitations which hedge it in are the limitations of 
human capability. Through judicious selection in 
mating he secures a uniformity and excellence which 
would be impossible even though all the other con- 
ditions essential to improvement were utilized to the 
utmost in the absence of selection. 

Thus it is that the proper selection of the ani- 
mals for breeding and the judicious mating of the 
same assume a significance in its bearing upon live 
stock production that cannot be overestimated. But, 
when it is impossible to improve the food conditions 
and -also those which relate to shelter, as where the 
animals have to forage for their own living through 
all the year on lands that cannot be cultivated, the 
benefits from selection will be much more restricted. 
Such is open range country where cattle rove in bands 
so large that sufficient protection cannot be provided 
for them in the conditions under which they are 
kept. 



252 



ANIMAL BREEDING. 




CHAPTER XXL 

EARLY MATURITY. 

Until recent years early maturity was not given 
that close attention which its importance demands. 
During the more recent of the decades it has made 
greater advances than in all time previously. The 
two influences that have contributed to this end more 
than any other are, first, the fat stock shows in the 
United States and Great Britain, chiefly the former, 
and second, the market demand for carcasses quickly 
grown but not overgrown. This demand is, of course, 
the outcome of modification in the taste of the con- 
sumers. ■ 

Early Maturity Defined. — Maturity means that 
period in the life of an animal when it may be- said 
to have attained complete development. Ordinarily 
it means complete physical development, but to this 
there are some exceptions, as when development in 
performance is included. A dairy cow, for instance, 
does not always reach the maximum of development 
in performance as soon as she reaches the maximum 
of physical development. Early maturity means the 
completion of development in form and function at a 
period earlier than is or has been usual in the average 
of the breed or class, and late maturity means just 
the opposite, that is to say, the completion of develop- 
ment in form and function at a period later than is 
usual in the -average of the breed or class. In the use 
of both terms the contrast is frequently drawn between 



254 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

breeds as such. For instance it may be said that the 
Hereford breed matures earlier than the West High- 
land, but very commonly it is also drawn between in- 
dividuals in a breed as compared with the average in 
the same. 

Early Maturity in Dairy Stock. — Early matu- 
rity as commonly applied to dairy stock has reference 
rather to the free and abundant production of milk at 
an early period, than to the completion of growth, but 
strictly speaking it means the completion of develop- 
ment in form and function at an early period, or, at 
a period that is earlier than usual in the average of 
the breed or class. The period of growth in the 
dairy animal cannot be hastened as in the beef pro- 
ducer, since the rapid forcing of the physical powers 
is antagonistic to the highest development of the milk 
producing function. Milk production in the dairy 
animal begins at a period considerably earlier than 
completed physical development. Yet, notwithstand- 
ing, complete development in form takes place at an 
earlier period as already intimated than complete de- 
velopment in function. If dairy animals were to be 
forced for growth beyond a certain limit, and espe- 
cially for growth accompanied by any considerable 
degree of fat production, a habit of the system would 
be begotten that would too much tend to the produc- 
tion of flesh, and when once produced, this tendency 
would remain with the animal. The free feeding of 
suitable food to young dairy animals tends to secure 
large growth rather than early maturity. It is evi- 
dent therefore, first, that early maturity cannot be 
reached so early in milk producing as in flesh pro- 
ducing animals, and second, that it. is less influenced 
by food than the production of meat. 



EARLY MATURITY. 255 

Influences Which Produce Early Maturity. — 
The chief of the influences concerned in producing 
early maturity are three, viz. : 1, A careful selection 
of animals for breeding that have evidenced an apti- 
tude for quick growth when young; 2, furnishing 
plentiful supplies of suitable food ; and 3, breeding 
from animals at an early age. 

Selection such as that just referred to has a 
very important bearing upon early maturity, espe- 
cially when supported by liberal supplies of suitable 
food. In this way advance is continually made upon 
previous maturity, and when thus made it may 
similarly be retained. In time, it will become a habit 
of the system, so fixed, that the tendency is regularly 
transmitted. The difference in the tendency in in- 
dividual animals to mature early is very marked, and 
should be carefully noted by the person seeking to 
hasten maturity in his flock or herd. Especially is 
this true when selecting breeding males. 

Furnishing plentiful and suitable food supplies 
is one of the surest means of promoting early matu- 
rity. When food is thus supplied, a maximum of 
growth is secured from day to day and without any 
cessation in the same until maturity is reached. If 
the supply is insufficient, growth is proportionately 
retarded, and if made up at all, must be made up at 
a later period, that is by prolonging the period of 
growth. But, as has been shown (see p. 203), stagna- 
tion in development takes away the capacity for de- 
velopment, consequently, the size of the animal may 
be materially lessened when matured. 

Breeding from animals at an early age will 
unquestionably hasten maturity, and because of this, 
it has been recommended as a means to this end. But 



256 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

if used at all for such an end it should be used with 
great caution. If animals are mated while far short 
of maturity, the tendency of such mating is to re- 
duce size and to weaken stamina, as has already been 
shown (see p. 263), hence, any gain to maturity ac- 
cruing from this source is of questionable ultimate 
advantage. But when breeding dairy heifers, it may 
be proper to do so while they are yet quite immature, 
that in them the tendency to milk-giving may be early 
developed. And when growing animals for meat, 
especially those that are being freely fed, if breeding 
were delayed until the animals were first matured 
they would probably breed less freely. When females 
produce young while quite immature the burden is 
put upon them of completing their own growth and 
of maintaining their young and this tends to lessen 
size. The better plan, therefore, is to avoid extremes 
when determining the age ?t which animals shall be 
bred. 

Advance in Early Maturity. — -Great improve- 
ment has been effected in recent years in the early 
maturing of meat producing animals. The average 
age at which they are now put upon the market has 
been shortened nearly, if not quite, one half. Less 
than half a century ago the favorite age for marketing 
cattle was from three to five years; now it is one 
and one half to two and one half years when the cattle 
are grown on arable farms. Wethers were formerly 
sold at two years and upwards ; now they are sold at 
one year and under. Swine were marketed at 
eighteen months, now they are marketed at nine 
months and short of that age. It would not be quite 
correct to say that these respective classes of animals 
attain the average weights of those sold in former 



EARLY MATURITY. 257 

years, but it is correct to say, first, that they do attain 
far greater weights at similar ages, and second, that 
they may easily be made to attain these weights at the 
respective ages mentioned, to meet the favorite re- 
quirements of the market. That such shortening of 
the period required for maturing animals should ma- 
terially enhance the profit to the grower will be shown 
below. 

Laws Governing the Cost of Development. — 
Physical development in animals with reference to 
relative gain and the cost of producing it would seem 
to be governed by the following laws, viz. : 1. The 
nearer the birth period the more rapid the daily 
gains when the food is given in sufficient quantities, 
and as the birth period is receded from the relative 
daily gains continually decrease. 2. The nearer the 
birth period the less the amount of food required to 
produce a pound of increase in live weight, and as the 
birth period is receded from the food required to pro- 
duce the same is increased. 3. A period is at length 
reached after which further gain ceases, notwithstand- 
ing that a large amount of food is required to main- 
tain the processes of life. 

These laws are so generally operative as to be 
fairly uniform and constant in their action. Take 
a calf for instance, of the pronounced beef type. 
Such a calf may easily be made to gain two pounds a 
day on an average the first year. The second year 
on food not more forced it will not gain much more 
than one and three quarters pounds per day and the 
third year not more than one and one quarter pounds 
per day. The difference will be even more than the 
figures given to represent the decreased relative gains 
as the birth period is receded from. But while there 



258 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

is usually decreased relative increase in weight with 
advance in the age, there is continual increase in the 
food consumption up to the period of maturity. This 
is owing probably to the greater activity of the organs 
concerned in digestion and food assimilation near 
the birth period, and to a continual decrease in the 
relative activity of the same with advancing age. 

From what has been said the following deduc- 
tions will be in order : 1, Animals increase in weight 
less rapidly as the birth period is receded from ; 2, the 
relative cost of producing a pound of gain increases as 
the birth period is receded from; and 3, the cost of 
the food of maintenance will increase as the birth 
period is receded from. But the first and second of 
these deductions, though generally true, may require 
some modification. It has not yet been proved con- 
clusively that young animals will make less gain 
per day every day as the birth period is receded from. 
Young pigs, for instance, would seem to be capable 
of making more gain per day some time after the 
weaning period than earlier. But suppose the matur- 
ing period were divided into three parts equal in 
duration, then the statement would seem to be invari- 
ably true, which claims that the relative gains would 
be considerably greater during the first period than the 
second and the second than the third. 

Again, while the consumption of food increases 
as the bifth period is receded from, it does not follow 
that the relative cost of food is always more, though 
it generally is. For instance, a calf may be fed for 
several months on new milk to force growth. Such 
a diet is so costly, that it would involve more outlay 
to make a pound of increase during the milk period 
than during a period equal in duration immediately 



EARLY MATURITY. 259 

following. If, however, the calf had been fed skim 
milk and adjuncts, then the reverse would probably 
be true. The greater relative cost of the food of 
maintenance with advancing age arises from the con- 
stantly decreasing activity of the digestive organs and 
of the secretions. 

The further deduction is also generally true, viz., 
that the greater profits are secured from animals 
grown for meat when pushed on all the while through 
liberal feeding from birth until they reach the block. 
But exceptions may be found in locations where the 
animals are reared much on pastures, and where the 
pastures grow on low priced lands. To such animals 
food supplies in winter, not costly, and producing but 
little increase in weight for a time, may be followed 
by more profit ultimately than would accrue from 
more rapid gains during those wintry periods, but 
secured through feeding costly grain foods. Let it 
be observed that the exception applies rather to range 
and semi-range conditions than to the conditions of 
the arable farm v 

Meat May be Marketed too Young. — Notwith- 
standing the general uniformity of the laws given 
above it may not be profitable to market animals while 
yet quite immature, as, in reckoning the cost of pro- 
duction, there must be taken into account: 1, 
the cost of the keep of the dam when pregnant and 
not producing any direct return ; 2, the extra cost of 
maintenance during the period of development in the 
embryo ; 3, a proportion of the cost of the keep of the 
sire; and 4, the hazard attendant upon breeding. 
Take for instance two sows in the one case, and one 
in the other.- Suppose the sows rear sixteen pigs in 
the first instance and these are sold at the age of four 



260 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

months, and that in the second instance the sow rears 
eight pigs which are sold at eight months. It does not 
follow that because the sixteen pigs weigh more 
than the eight pigs, that the profit on these has been 
greater. The cost of the two sows during the period 
of gestation and subsequently would be greater than 
the cost of the one. In other words the cost of pro- 
duction increases with increase in the number of dams 
kept to produce a certain weight in meat in the prog- 
eny. This argument is less applicable to animals that 
are producers during much of the period of preg- 
nancy, as for instance in the case of dairy cows. It 
is also true that a dam will require more food when 
pregnant than when not pregnant, that is to say, she 
will require additional what is necessary to develop 
the foetus during all the period of its growth. 

Thus, animals cost for maintenance and develop- 
ment before they are born, and this must not be lost 
sight of when estimating relative profits from the sale 
of animals at different stages of development. If, in 
order to multiply animals more rapidly than would 
be necessary if not marketed quite young, another 
male must be secured and maintained. This also 
would bear upon the question of profit. And there is 
also some hazard in breeding. The young of the clam 
may be injured prior to birth. The dam herself is 
more liable to take harm when pregnant. And rel- 
ative hazard increases somewhat with the multiplica- 
tion of animals on the farm. All these influences have 
a bearing on the cost of production. Each points to 
the conclusion that it would be easily possible to 
market animals quite too soon to produce the greatest 
profit. 

Most Profitable Age for Marketing Meat. — The 



EARLY MATURITY. 261 

most profitable age at which to send meat making 
animals to the block will depend: 1, on the age most 
in favor with the dealer and consumer ; 2, on the 
prices that can be obtained at certain seasons ; 3, on 
the prices of food as compared with those of the 
finished product; and 4, on the cost of the animal at 
birth. 

The public taste decides what the dealer must 
furnish. The denier will only bny what the public 
taste decides that the dealer must furnish. The deal- 
er will only buy what the public taste demands. The 
public taste therefore decides virtually at what age the 
grower shall market animals grown for meat. High- 
er prices will be paid per pound for animals which 
approximate a certain weight and age than for those 
older or younger. The grower therefore who is wise 
will study the taste of the consumer not only in regard 
to the character of the meat product which he puts 
upon the market, but also as to the age at which lie 
shall market it, and that age at which the meat prod- 
uct will sell for the highest price after the animal 
has been at least reasonably well grown. As markets 
are, quickly grown cattle should sell at about the age 
of not more than thirty months to brins; the greatest 
profit. Sheep should sell at not more than twelve 
months and swine at not more than eight or nine 
months. These statements relate to the conditions 
of the arable farm. 

The price of meat varies more or less at differ- 
ent seasons of the year. On the approach of winter 
the market is usually glutted with nearly all kinds 
of meat and the price falls more or less. The aim 
should be, therefore, to market the animal when the 
market is not so glutted. And to be in a better posi- 



262 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

tion to do so, attention ought to be given prospectively 
to the regulation of the age before the dam is served, 
so thai the progeny shall be ready for the market at 
that time which experience has shown to be the most 
profitable age of disposal. Usually the greatest profit 
is obtained when the animals are brought to a Inch 
degree of finish, but there are times, as when food is 
unduly dear, that more profit may be obtained from 
disposing of the animals before they are thus highly 
finished. At such times when feed is both scarce 
and dear, the highest profit may be made by selling 
directly from the autumn pastures, and doing so will 
of course have a bearing on the age at which to sell. 

Prom the ages given above as those considered 
the most profitable for disposing of cattle, sheep and 
swine, respectively, it will be noticed that there is a 
relation between the cost of the animal at birth and 
the age of marketing. The more the animal has cost 
at the time of birth, as in the case of the calf, the 
later is the period for most profitably disposing of the 
same. 

Maturity Affected by Various Conditions. — 
Under some conditions early maturity can only be 
measurably attained. For instance when flocks and 
herds gather their food wholly from the pastures 
on ranches and ranges, which it is not easily possible 
to improve, only a certain standard of maturity will 
be reached. The measure of that standard will be 
the character of the pastures in relation, first, to their 
abundance, second, to their nutrition, and third, to 
their accessibility during all seasons of the year. The 
climate, more especially the winter climate, will also 
exert an influence under those conditions. Some influ- 
ence may be exercised by man, first, in placing breeds 



EARLY MATURITY. 263 

upon the pastures which will best sustain them, and 
second, by regulating the closeness of the grazing of 
the same. Maturity may thus be advanced somewhat 
by placing small breeds on the pastures and not allow- 
ing them to be grazed too closely, but maturity quite 
early cannot thus be attained or maintained. 

Advance in Maturity and Food Supplies. — 
When the tendency to an earlier maturity has been 
secured, it should be maintained by liberal food sup- 
plies, otherwise there will be serious disturbance of 
the system followed by ill doing. In such animals 
a habit of vigorously appropriating food has been 
begotten. If this habit of the system is not sustain- 
ed by liberal supplies of food, the equilibrium of 
the system as a whole is thrown out of balance. Thus 
it is that pure bred animals of much merit usually 
fare much worse than common animals when subject- 
ed to hard fare in the hands of inexperienced stock- 
men who may have purchased them. 

Early Maturity and the Constitution. — Early 
maturity may be made to affect the constitution ad- 
versely, owing: 1, to the undermining influence of 
breeding from immature animals, and 2, to the ex- 
tremely artificial conditions which frequently attend 
such breeding. This has been already referred to, 
(see p. 256). An illustration of the weakening ten- 
dencies of breeding from animals quite immature is 
found in many herds of Poland China swine as now 
reared in the corn belt. To hasten maturity, animals 
are also kept under extremely artificial conditions, 
especially with reference to confinement, and they are 
fed foods unduly forcing. Such management will 
result in decreased vigor. Yet the fact should not be 
lost sight of, that early maturity may be attained in 



264 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

a marked degree without hazard to constitutional 



-& j 



Early Maturity and Size. — There appears to be 
some antagonism between early maturity and large 
size in breeds and in animals of the same breed. 
Observation shows that the smaller breeds mature 
more quickly than the larger. Southdown sheep ma- 
ture more quickly than the Lincolns. Small York- 
shire swine mature more quickly than Yorkshires of 
the large types. This principle of development seems 
to pervade the animal kingdom. The rabbit for in- 
stance reaches full size in much less time than the 
ma stiff, and likewise the horse matures much more 
quickly than the elephant. It has also been noticed 
that individuals within a breed or type that are small 
in size, fine in limb and neat in form, mature more 
quickly than those that are of large size and more 
rangy in form. It follows, therefore, that where the 
attempt is made to shorten the period of maturity 
in animals it will not be possible to so reduce the 
same that the period for full development in a large 
breed will be no longer than the same in a small breed 
of the same species, the conditions being the same. 

Early Maturity and Longevity. — Early matu- 
rity is also in some respects antagonistic to longevity. 
The relation between the duration of life and the 
rapidity with which maturity is reached seems to be 
close and intimate. This relation pervades all life, 
vegetable as well as animal. Since domestic animals 
except horses and mules are usually slaughtered, it 
is almost impossible to state what would be the aver- 
age duration of life with each class, but it will be 
approximately correct to say, that the domestic sheep 
which matures in from two to three years, would die 



EARLY MATURITY. 265 

of old age in from eight to twelve years, and that 
cattle which mature fully in from four to six years 
would die of old age in from sixteen to twenty-four 
years. Small song birds live only a few years. Some 
eagles it is thought live for more than a century. 

The quick growing cottonwood tree in many 
localities does not usually survive fifty years. The 
slow growing yew tree will in some situations live 
for more than a thousand years. ~No sooner is the 
maximum of development reached than decline at 
once sets in, hence the conclusion would seem to be 
legitimate, that the life period will be shortened in 
proportion to the degree to which early maturity is 
hastened, although in the meantime it would be 
scarcely possible to furnish facts that would trans- 
form what is simply a seemingly correct conclusion 
into an actual demonstration. 

The practical bearing of this question upon the 
development of animals from which years of service 
are expected in the line of performance is by no means 
unimportant. It would mean that rushing the^horse 
on to maturity would tend to shorten the entire period 
during which he could labor ; and likewise rushing 
the dairy cow to maturity would tend to shorten the 
period of her ability to milk profitably. It would 
therefore seem to be easily possible to hasten maturity 
in horses and dairy cows overmuch. 

Hindrances to Early Maturity. — Hindrances to 
early maturity may arise : 1, from insufficient food 
supplies ; 2, from excessive feeding ; and 3, from 
stagnation of growth arising from any cause what- 
ever. That maturity will be delayed by insufficient 
food supplies is so self evident that it does not re- 
quire demonstration, but that excessive feeding may 



266 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

delay maturity may not be so clear at first thought. 
It does so by overtaxing the digestive powers. Such 
overtaxing is accompanied by loss of appetite and 
consequently insufficient food consumption. The 
remedy is comparative rest for the digestive organs 
for a time, which means delay in development while 
such rest continues. It may also mean lessened ca- 
pacity for quick development subsequently, as the 
digestive powers may be more or less permanently 
weakened. But digestive and assimilative capacity 
may likewise be weakened from insufficient food sup- 
plies though otherwise suitable, hence stagnation in 
growth is also followed by diminished capacity for 
growth (see p. 203), and this in turn means deferred 
maturity. 

Economic Value of Early Maturity. — The value 
of early maturity in meat producing animals viewed 
from the standpoint of economy cannot be w r ell over- 
estimated, as it effects a saving: 1, in the food of 
maintenance ; 2, in the food of production, and 3, 
in the labor of attendance. 

The saving in the food of maintenance is of 
course effected by shortening the period of growth. 
The extent of the saving is proportionate to the period 
during which maturity has been hastened. If, for 
instance, one animal is matured in thirty months, and 
another in thirty-six months, a saving has been effected 
in the food of maintenance for six months. And the 
fact should not be lost sight of that the cost of the 
food of maintenance increases with the advancing 
age (see p. 257). 

The saving in the food of production is effected 
by the increase in digestive and assimilative capacity 
in the early maturing animal. Without effective 



EARLY MATURITY. 267 

digestive power it cannot be a quick maturing animal. 
Effective food assimilation means economy in the 
utilization of food. Economy in the labor of attend- 
ance will be at least measurably proportionate to the 
extent to which maturity is hastened. It is not ab- 
solutely thus proportioned since the quick maturing 
of animals may call for more attentive care than 
would otherwise be necessary. 



CIIAPTEK XXII. 

PEDIGREE. 

Pedigrees of domestic animals may be kept by 
individuals for their own guidance in breeding, but 
usually they are kept by associations formed to protect 
the interests of individual breeds. It will never be 
known, probably, when the keeping of pedigrees first 
began. That the Arabs kept records of the breeding 
of their horses many centuries ago is a well establish- 
ed fact. If all the facts were known, however, it 
would pretty certainly be found, that individual 
records were kept of the pedigrees of horses long be- 
fore the modern era. The fact remains, nevertheless, 
that the era of keeping public records of the pedigrees 
of domestic animals is essentially modern. The first 
herdbook published was that which recorded English 
Shorthorn cattle, the first volume of which appeared 
in 1822. At the present time public records are 
kept of every pure breed of horses, cattle, sheep and 
swine now found in the United States and Great 
Britain, and those public records now extend to 
various other classes of domestic animals, as dogs and 
goats. 

The Term Pedigree Defined. — Pedigree is .a 
record of the ancestry of an animal for a longer or 
a shorter period. It is said to be complete when it 
traces back on the side of both sire and dam to the 
foundation animals first admitted into the herdbook. 
The idea originated doubtless in the desire to trace 



PEDIGREE. 269 

descent to noted performers, hence, the prevailing 
opinion underlying it is the fundamental law of 
breeding that like produces like, and hence also the 
popular view, that it is in itself a guaranty of supe- 
riority. A pedigree therefore usually enhances the 
commercial value of an animal, and in proportion 
as it contains noted performers in the ancestry and 
especially in the near ancestry. That it should do 
so is perfectly legitimate, since it costs more to pro- 
duce pedigreed animals than those not so pedigreed. 
The added cost will usually he proportionate to the 
high performance in the ancestry. The public there- 
fore should not expect to purchase good pedigreed 
animals at meat values. On the other hand it is easily 
possible to pay too high a price for pedigree. That 
pedigree is in itself a guaranty of superiority is not 
always true, though generally true, since it is possible 
to breed animals with so little judgment for genera- 
tion^ that pedigree may prove a bane because of the 
harm that may result from it. 

.Objects Sought in Keeping Pedigrees. — Prom- 
inent among the objects sought in keeping pedigrees 
are: 1, in all instances to enable the breeder to 
trace lineage; 2, in some instances to enable him to 
trace performance in the ancestry ; and 3, in nearly 
all instances to furnish him with a guaranty of purity 
of breeding. 

The extent to which pedigree enables the breeder 
to trace lineage will depend upon the length of the 
pedigree. In some of the pedigrees of Shorthorn 
cattle, lineage may be traced for more than twenty 
generations. The limit of such tracing is usually the 
period when records of the breed began to be com- 
piled. Lineage, therefore, at the present time, cannot 



270 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

usually be traced beyond one hundred years, but the 
duration of the period during which it can be traced in 
the future will increase continually with the lapse 
of years. The question, therefore, as to how far back 
it is important that lineage may be traced will soon be 
one of much significance, for the labor of such 
tracing becomes increasingly cumbersome as the pedi- 
gree grows longer. But more will be said upon this 
point below. Let it be observed, that it is only in 
some instances that pedigree enables the individual 
to trace performance in the ancestry. 

It is only pedigrees of a certain character that 
give the pedigree of performance, as is shown further 
on. When such performance is not given in the pedi- 
gree, it can only be gleaned from historic records, 
usually more or less fragmentary when these may 
have been kept, or from traditional sources. In all 
instances pedigree would furnish the breeder with an 
absolute guaranty of purity of breeding, were it not 
for the fact that designing men may forward pedi- 
grees for record that are either not genuine or authen- 
tic. How this may be done is shown below. There 
are good reasons for believing, however, that such 
deception is seldom practiced. 

Terms Used to Indicate Lineage. — The more 
common of the terms used to indicate lineage are : 
thoroughbred, pure-bred, cross-bred, grade, and scrub 
or native. Thoroughbred in the strictest sense de- 
notes the English race horse. That was the primary 
use of the term and it is so applied yet, but it is also 
now frequently used to denote any class of horses, 
cattle, sheep or swine that are purely bred. The 
term pure-bred is frequently used as synonymous with 
full blood, and thoroughbred, as the latter is now un- 



PEDIGREE. 271 

derstood. It indicates animals of a well defined breed 
without admixture of other blood. So frequently is 
the term pure-bred applied to animals without admix- 
ture of alien blood, that they are seldom referred to 
by the use of the other terms mentioned, except in the 
instance of the running horse. The term cross-bred in 
the primary sense, denotes the progeny of two distinct 
breeds bred together, but it has also a more extended 
use as shown in Chapter XXV. 

A grade is the produce of a cross between a pure 
bred and an animal of mixed breeding. But this 
term also is of wider application as shown in Chapter 
XXVI. A scrub or native denotes the produce of 
animals of mixed blood, bred in an aimless way, and 
without individual excellence. There is usually at 
least a shade of derision associated with the use of 
the term scrub, because of the inferior individuality 
of the animals to which it is applied. 

Pedigree and Purity of Blood. — Pedigree does 
not necessarily bring along with it purity of blood, 
nor is it in itself anv ^uarantv of individual ex- 
cellence. Grade animals may also have pedigrees. 
Such pedigrees in practice are seldom kept, since the 
animals are not usually considered sufficiently valu- 
able to justify the labor of keeping' them. Neverthe- 
less, where grades are of high excellence, and more 
especially where they are kept for milk-giving, and 
when records are kept of the milk production, it may 
also be advantageous to keep private records of the 
breeding. Individually,- pure bred animals are fre- 
quently inferior to grades. This does not arise from 
any law necessarily leading to such a result, but 
rather from improper breeding. 

The Pedigree of Lineage. — The pedigree of 



272 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

lineage more commonly gives only the names of 
the female ancestry and the sire of each female for 
a number of generations, although in some instances 
it furnishes a record of both the sires and the dams. 
When the names of the female ancestry only are given, 
with the sire of each, the herdbook number of each 
sire is also given, which makes it possible to trace 
the lineage of each sire as well. When the names of 
both sires and dams are given, the record of lineage 
is, of course, more complete than in the former in- 
stance. Examples of both forms of pedigree are 
given in Appendix A. It will be observed that neither 
of these forms of pedigree necessarily give any facts 
regarding the history of the animal, aside from line- 
age, other than those which relate to ownership and 
the date of birth. 

The Pedigree of Performance. — The pedigree 
of performance more commonly applies to speed in 
horses and to milk production in cows. It also in- 
cludes the pedigree of lineage. In fact, it is simply 
the pedigree of lineage with certain facts added there- 
to relating to performance. These may relate to one, 
or to several of the animals named in the pedigree of 
lineage, and in the second form of pedigree above 
referred to, they are stated immediately in connection 
with the name, of the animal (see p. 276). In the 
form of pedigree first given, it would not be possible 
to give such information otherwise. than by append- 
ing it in the form of foot notes vfrider the pedigree of 
lineage. See also what has been said in Chapter II. 
under the division relating to advanced registry (p. 
20). 

Pedigree Not a History of the Ancestry. — Pedi- 
gree is not necessarily a history of the ancestry of 



PEDIGREE. 273 

the animal, only in so far as it relates to lineage or 
to lineage and performance taken together. Other 
facts relating to the history of the individual animal 
must be obtained from other sources. These are such 
as relate to size, weight, breeding qualities, prize win- 
nings and disposal. The chief of the sources of such 
information are, the private records of the breeder, 
the prize lists as published by the agricultural press 
and in some instances herd records. The histories of 
the various breeds also give more or less of such in- 
formation. In private catalogues of studs and herds 
issued from time to time, it is customary to give such 
details in foot notes immediately below the pedigree. 

Measure of Value in Pedigrees. — The value of 
a pedigree depends largely: 1, On its authenticity; 
2, on its genuineness ; and 3, on the excellence of the 
individuals in the ancestry, more especially in those 
that are near rather than' remote. If a pedigree is 
not authentic, its value is lessened in proportion as 
its authenticity is wanting, as is shown below. If not 
genuine, it is valueless. The common measure of 
pedigree in the popular mind is, in many instances, 
its length, and the noteworthiness of the ancestry in 
or near the foundation crosses. That this view is not 
correct is shown below (see p. 275). 

Authenticity in Pedigree. — The authenticity of 
a pedigree has reference to the truthfulness of the 
statements of fact regarding it. If facts such as re- 
late to the date of birth, to the breeder, to the circum- 
stance of importation, or in the case of more than 
one at a birth, to relationship, are incorrectly stated, 
the authenticity of the pedigree is so far impaired and 
along with it the value of the pedigree. Nor can it 
be authentic unless consistent with itself and the 



274. ANIMAL BREEDING. 

known facts regarding the history of the breed. For 
instance, suppose the date of birth assigned to the 
animal was prior to the age at which it would be 
possible for the dam to produce, or the sire to beget, 
it would not be consistent with itself. If any trans- 
position was made in the proper order in which the 
dams or sires should come, the same would also be 
true. If, moreover, a Shorthorn sire of ancestry 
somewhat remote, were given an American herdbook 
number, and yet it was certainly known that the said 
sire was never imported into America, this fact would 
at least presumably be contrary to the known history 
of the breed. The same would be true of an American 
born Shorthorn with an English record number, un- 
less within the more recent of the decades, since the 
current of Shorthorn exportation has been from Eng- 
land to the United States rather than the opposite. 

The only protection from such misstatements of 
fact is, 1, the integrity of the breeders, and 2, the 
vigilance of the party or parties who pass on the 
completed pedigrees forwarded for registration. But 
the said persons can only certainly detect inconsist- 
ences of statement. Frequently, it may be impossible 
for them to detect incorrectness of statement, as, for 
instance, misrepresentation regarding the sire used. 

Genuineness in Pedigrees. — The genuineness of 
a pedigree has reference to correctness of personation. 
This means that one animal shall not be substituted 
for another in applications for registration. This 
species of fraud is happily not frequent, but there 
are good reasons for -believing that in some in- 
stances it has been practiced. The temptation 
to misrepresent thus, comes only with the breed- 
ing of animals of much value. A pure bred cow, 



PEDIGEEE. 275 

for instance, of a noted family loses a calf, An- 
other cow of a much less noted family produces a 
calf about the same time. If the breeder is dishonest 
enough to forward for registration an entry form 
filled out which represents the calf as the progeny of 
the cow first referred to, by so doing. he may add much 
to the selling price of the calf. The editor of the 
herdbook may have no good grounds for suspecting 
fraud, and though he had, it may be quite impossible 
for him to get the true facts. The only real protec- 
tion, therefore, against such misrepresentation is the 
integrity of the breeder. 

Excellence in the Ancestry. — Excellence in the 
ancestry is much more important in the near than in 
the remote parentage, since the preponderance in the 
blood elements of the latter greatly exceeds that of 
the former. Suppose that in one instance a Shorthorn 
traces to the famous bull Hubback (319) and 
that more than twenty generations of Shorthorn blood 
intervene. It is very evident that the inheritance of 
blood elements from Hubback is so infinitesimal that 
it is 'scarcely worthy of being taken into account at 
all. Suppose that in another instance a Shorthorn has 
been sired by some f anions stock and show bull. The 
said Shorthorn has at least 50 per cent of the blood 
elements represented in that sire. The influence 
therefore exercised by the sire in the second instance 
will be beyond all comparison greater than that exer- 
cised by the remote ancestor, Hubback, in the first 
instance. 

It is manifest, therefore: 1, that the value of a 
pedigree depends more upon the excellence of the 
individuals in the near ancestry than in that remote ; 
2, that such value is enhanced "by each instance of 



276 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

individual excellence in the near ancestry on the side 
of sire or dam ; and 3, that general excellence in the 
near ancestors in a pedigree is of far more conse- 
quence than length of pedigree in the absence of such 
excellence. 

Leading Methods of Writing Pedigrees. — Two 
leading methods of writing pedigrees have been adopt- 
ed. The first of these gives : 1, the name of the ani- 
mal, its sex, color, and date of birth ; 2, the name, 
post office address, and state, province or country of 
the breeder, and also similar particulars relating to 
the owner or successive owners, if the animal has 
changed hands once or oftener ; 3, the name of the 
sire and his record number; and 4, the name of the 
dam and her sire and of all the dams in the ancestry 
with the sire of each and the record numbers of all the 
respective sires. The record numbers of the dams 
are also given when numbers have been assigned to 
these. But in the case of several breeds, especially 
those for which records were earliest begun, unfortu- 
nately no numbers have been assigned to the dams. 

The second method of recording pedigrees gives : 
1. The name of the animal to be recorded, and also 
the date of its birth. 2. The name of the sire and 
clam connected by a bracket and the record number 
of each. 3. The name likewise of each successive sire 
and dam in the ancestry with the record number of 
each and similarly linked. And 4, In some instances 
particulars are added with reference to some of the 
more noted of the ancestry. These particulars may 
relate to any fact which is considered greatly impor- 
tant with reference to the animal, but usually they are 
restricted to facts which relate to some kind of per- 
formance in the individual. The pedigree to be re- 



PEDIGREE. 277 

corded is made out by the owner of the animal and 
usually on a blank form furnished on application, by 
the secretary of the association. For the illustration 
of these two methods of writing pedigrees and also 
of the way to read them see Appendix A. 

Designation of Herd Records. — Pedigrees are 
now generally recorded in some public record, more 
commonly known as a herdbook, but other designa- 
tions are used, some of which have reference to the 
class or species to which the animals belong whose 
pedigrees are recorded. Thus, the public records of 
horses are usually called "stud books," of cattle "herd- 
books," of sheep "nock-books," and of swine simply 
"records." But the last mentioned are usually pre- 
ceded by the name of the breed. For instance, the 
records for Poland Chinas have such designations as 
the "Standard Poland China Record" and the "Ohio 
Poland China Record." But the designations given 
above do not apply in all cases. For instance, the 
book which records Cotswpld sheep in the United 
States is designated the "American Cotswold Record," 
and that which records Devon cattle as the "American 
Devon Record." 

Objects in Keeping Public Records.— The ob- 
jects sought in keeping public records include the fol- 
lowing: 1, To preserve the purity of the breed with 
a view to the advancement of its interests. It has 
already been shown that one idea underlying pedigree 
is to furnish the breeder with a guaranty of purity 
of breeding (see p. 269). But in the absence of 
public records, such a guaranty Avould only be of value 
to a very limited number of persons. This is true of 
all records privately kept. But when pedigrees are 
recorded in public records the guaranty becomes pub- 



278 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

lie property, since public records are open to the 
world. 

2. To guard the integrity of pedigrees as far 
as may be practicable. It has been shown above that 
even with the safeguards of public registration it 
may not be possible in some instances to prevent de- 
signing breeders from forwarding pedigrees for entry 
of their own manufacture (see p. 273). Public rec- 
ords, however, greatly limit the area within which 
such crooked work may be carried on, since no fact 
can be stated in a manufactured pedigree that is in- 
consistent with what has already been put on public 
record. 

3. To furnish a ready means of tracing pedigrees. 
If only private records existed, it would be absolutely 
impracticable to trace pedigrees when the numbers 
of the breed had multiplied and become distributed 
to any considerable extent, since the labor and cost 
of such tracing would be great. How pedigrees are 
traced is explained in Appendix A. It may also be 
stated that the information commonly given in the 
records will in itself furnish to the reader the key 
that will enable him to trace pedigrees. Such tracing 
is seldom so involved as to make it greatly difficult. 

The associations which issue public records are 
usually controlled by breeders who are members of the 
same. When the recording of pedigrees first began, 
the issuing of the records which contain them was 
done of necessity by private enterprise, as associations 
had not then been formed in the interests of the 
breed. When these associations were formed, sooner 
or later they secured the rights to such records by 
purchase, hence, now, in scarcely a single instance 
are proprietary rights held by any party or parties 



PEDIGREE. 279 

other than the associations formed to promote the 
interests of the respective breeds. Although such 
records are open to anyone who pays the recording fee, 
in the price charged there is usually discrimination, 
and very properly so, in favor of those who are mem- 
bers of the association. 

Mode of Recording Pedigrees Not Uniform.- — 
The mode of recording pedigrees in the various public 
records is by no means uniform. In the past they 
have more commonly been recorded as written in the 
first method given (see p. 276), but the tendency now 
is more and more to record them by the second method 
given (see p. 276), because of its greater complete- 
ness. In some records, however, the former method is 
followed to secure greater brevity in recording. The 
pedigree in these records is not followed further than 
the names and respective numbers of the sire and dam. 
If the breeder wishes to know further particulars 
about the lineage, he must trace the ancestry from the 
key or starting point thus given. It is probable that as 
pedigrees multiply some such method will have to be 
adopted in all records. Some records have certain 
features which throw added light on the ancestry 
or the history of the breed. 

The following are samples of the same : In the 
Red Polled herdbook the tribal ancestry are given in 
abbreviated form, and a reference to the same is 
prefixed to the pedigree by the use of a letter known 
as the tribal letter. When this letter is seen the tribe 
or family to which the animal belongs is thus at once 
communicated to the individual who knows its sig- 
nificance. In other records as, for instance, the Ohio 
Poland China, a sketch is given in condensed form 
of the work of certain of the breeders. The wisdom 



280 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

of inserting such sketches is at least open to question, 
since the way is thus opened as to discrimination in 
admitting the sketches thus given. The more fitting 
place for these would seem to be in some distinctive 
history of the breed. In the advanced registry of 
Holstein Friesian cattle in the United States, an ac- 
curate description of the animal admitted is required 
of the examiners. This description relates not only 
to color but also to form and measurements of the 
same. A properly attested record of performance 
is also required. 

Distinguishing Maries in Records. — In some 
records certain marks precede and follow the record 
numbers. The chief object in using them is to fur- 
nish a ready means of distinguishing between the 
records, more especially when more than one record 
has been established for the same breed. For ex- 
ample, suppose the number 25 has been assigned to 
an animal in the English, the Canadian and the 
American Shorthorn herdbooks respectively, in the 
first it will be written thus, (25), in the second thus, 
=25-=, and in the third simply 25. But this ex- 
planation does not account for the use of all such 
marks, as the numbers used in the English Shorthorn 
herdbooks were inclosed in round brackets from the 
first, and at a time when no other records of the 
breed were being kept. 

In Britain the tendency is to use brackets, and in 
the United States not to use them. When more than 
one record exists of the breed and especially in the 
same country these marks are decidedly helpful as 
a ready means of distinguishing between records, but 
when only one record exists of a breed, the use of any 
form of distinguishing marks would seem to be quite 



PEDIGKEE. 281 

unnecessary. Other marks than those given above are 
also used, as for instance, the sign — placed before 
and after the record number. In the Canadian York- 
shire record the number 25 assigned to an animal 
on record would read — 25 — . 

Terms Referring to Parentage. — When speaking 
of the descent of the progeny from the female parent 
the term out of or from is more commonly used. 
For example, if reference were being made in herd- 
book language to the fact that Princess 2d was a 
daughter of Princess, it would more commonly bo 
said that Princess 2d is out of the dam Princess. 
When speaking of descent from the male parent the 
term got by or by is used in the language of the herd- 
book. For example, if reference were being made to 
the fact that Scotsman 2d was a son of Scotsman, 
it would be said that Scotsman 2d was got by or by 
Scotsman. 

Choosing Name's for Animals. — Usage govern- 
ing' the choice of names varies in the 1 different live 
stock associations. All are agreed that the frequent 
repetition of the same name is undesirable except 
when it denotes family descent as indicated by the 
number in the family affixed to it. Thus Duchess 
27th at once conveys the idea that this female is of 
the Duchess family, and that preceding her were 
twenty-six females of that family whose pedigrees 
were recorded. When family names are affixed, or 
the name of the breeder's farm comes before or after 
the name given to the animal, information is thus 
conveyed in the first instance as to the family to 
which the animal belongs, and in the second, as to 
the farm where it was bred. The names Lord Mac- 
duff, Earl Macduff or Prince Macduff convey to the 



282 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

mind the idea of relationship to some previous noted 
ancestor named Macduff. And the names Mary of 
Kinnoul Park, Jennie or Lizzie of Kinnoul Park tell 
the reader at once that these animals were bred at the 
Kinnoul Park farm. 

Where the ancestor in the first instance has been 
quite famous, and where the farm in the second in- 
stance has been noted for the production of stock of 
high excellence, such names are doubtless of some 
advantage to the breeder when viewed from a financial 
standpoint, but there is the objection that names are 
thus made cumbrously long. In yet other records 
the name of the animal is the proper name of the 
individual in conjunction with the ear tag number 
given by the association. Thus if Mr. Jackson were 
recording Shropshire sheep the records would run or 
may run, Jackson's 1, 2, and 3. This method is adopt- 
ed by the American Shropshire Association in record- 
ing Shropshire sheep, and also by some other associa- 
tions. The plan is most commendable. It gives regis- 
tration that is brief and simple. In the very name of 
the animal it gives information as to the breeder, and 
in the number of the same as to the extent of his previ- 
ous breeding. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

ANIMAL FORM AS AN INDEX TO QUALITIES. 

That animal form is an index of qualities can- 
not any longer be questioned. It is at least a general 
index of the same. But to say that it is an infallible 
index of the degree to which they possess qualities 
would scarcely be true. For instance, from the gen- 
eral form of a dairy cow it may be known with 
certainty that she is a large milk producer. But two 
dairy cows may be about equal in form, and yet one 
will produce more abundantly than the other, and 
the best of judges may not be able to say which will be 
the superior producer of the two. This may arise 
from the influence of some internal forces the exact 
strength of which can only be known accurately 
by the actual results. Yet the fact remains that the 
indications of external form, when correctly inter- 
preted, are sufficient to furnish the breeder with a 
safe guide when making selections for breeding. 

Interpreting Animal Form. — The channels 
through which such, interpretation must come prin- 
cipally, if not indeed wholly, are the senses of sight 
and touch. The judgments formed through these 
respective mediums are based on what observation and 
experience have taught with reference to the relation 
between form and qualities. It follows, therefore, 
that the best interpreters of what is indicated by form 
will be the best judges of live stock. The qualities 
referred to are such as relate to capacity for speed, 



284 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

labor, meat making, milk secretion and wool produc- 
tion. These will be further considered and somewhat 
in detail. 

Intimately concerned in the production of the 
aforementioned qualities are indications of breeding, 
strength of constitution or the opposite, the activity 
of the nutritive processes, nervous energy, present con- 
dition as to bodily vigor and age. These also will 
likewise be further considered. They differ some- 
what in some instances in the different classes of 
live stock, though more generally they are the same. 
To illustrate: Roominess of barrel in all classes of 
females is associated with capacity for breeding, but 
the shape of the roomy barrel differs somewhat in 
these respective classes. In sheep the shape is cylin- 
drical. In swine it is a deep parallelogram. 

Indications of Speed and Labor. — The indica- 
tions of speed and labor are such as relate chiefly 
to the horse, and they will be submitted only in a 
summary and general way. Chief among them are 
strong chest development, light relative development 
of the hind quarters, lightness of limb and quality 
of bone. Strong chest development indicates bodily 
vigor and endurance. In its absence the vital organs 
work more feebly, hence nerve power and staying 
power so essential to the maintenance of speed will 
not be sufficiently present. Development of the hind 
quarters beyond a certain degree would add unneces- 
sary weight. A certain degree of length and light- 
ness of limb is so necessary to speed that in its ab- 
sence it would be vain to look for speed. 

The character of the bone is indicated by its 
shape and cleanness and by the nature of the joints. 
Among the leading indications of capacity for labor 



ANIMAL FORM INDEX OF QUALITIES. 



285 




286 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

are good muscular development, generally strong rel- 
ative development of the fore quarters and strength 
of limb. The general muscular development should 
reiate to every part, but nowhere should it be more 
strikingly manifest than in the collar, shoulders, 
arms, back and thighs. Without sufficient strength of 
limb the latter must break down when subjected to a 
severe strain. 

Indications of Meat Production. — The indica- 
tions of capacity for meat production in the bodily 
form include all the essentials of bodily form which 
belong to the respective meat producing classes of 
live stock, as cattle, sheep and swine. To give them in 
detail would be to give in substance the standards of 
excellence for these respective breeds. This the au- 
thor has done in the book "The Study of Breeds/'" 
If, however, the two most important indications of 
capacity for meat production were asked for, the an- 
swer would probably be correct that would say, first, a 
compact form, and second, good handling qualities. 
The first includes a good back and a good development 
of fore and hind quarters. It furnishes a framework 
which experience has taught is most easily covered 
with meat, see "Study of Breeds," p. 10. T,he second 
furnishes evidence of good digestive capacity (see 
Chapters XVIII. and XIX.). 

Bodily Form in the Various Classes of Meat 
Producing Animals. — Although the essentials as to 
form in all meat producing animals are in many 
respects the same, they are not so in all. In the 
various breeds of beef cattle, sheep and swine, the 
following essentials are possessed in common, viz. : 
a certain lightness and cleanness of head and some 
degree of lightness and shortness of limb, a fair 



ANIMAL FORM INDEX OF QUALITIES. 287 

length of body of good depth and width, and the 
parallelogrammic shape. In sheep. the parallelogram- 
mie shape merges more into the cylindrical, and in 
swine the parallelogram is relatively deeper and 
narrower, the neck is relatively thicker and the body 
is relatively longer. Of course, from the very na- 
ture of things, notwithstanding the resemblance in 
these essentials, they will all differ somewhat. Yet, 
it will be found that in the features of outline noted, 
there will be, what may be termed, general resemblance 
in a certain direction. Thus, although the heads of 
swine and cattle differ materially in shape, and the 
legs differ in relative length, coarseness of head and 
limb are equally condemned in both. The three 
classes should also be covered with a coat indicative 
of proper digestive capacity. This coat in each 
should be long and plentiful for the breed, attractive 
to the eye and soft to the touch, since all these evi- 
dences bear testimony to activity in the assimilating 
processes. 

Indications of Milk Production. — The indica- 
tions of capacity for milk production in the bodily 
form of dairy cattle have been given by the author in 
detail in Lecture Xo. 5 in the book "The Study of 
Breeds," and also of the dual-purpose form, that is, 
the meat and milk form combined, in Lecture Xo. 6 of 
the same. The most prominent of these indications 
are barrel capacity and refinement of form. The 
first means a long and capacious barrel for the recep- 
tion of much food. The second means a head, neck 
and limbs inclining to long and fine and what may 
be termed spareness of form, that is an absence of all 
tendency to an overmuch covering of flesh. The in- 
dications of good milk production in other animals 



288 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

will be present or absent in proportion as they in a 
general way resemble or are unlike the typical dairy 
form in the cow. 

But in meat making animals, the principal ob- 
ject for which they are kept is of course to produce 
meat. In order, however, to secure vigorous growth 
in the progeny, the dams should give milk enough to 
promote excellent growth in the young during the 
nursing period. This they will not do if of the ex- 
tremest beef form. On the other hand they will not 
produce meat enough nor of sufficiently high quality 
if they lean too much toAvard the dairy form. Some 
leaning toward the dual-purpose form therefore is 
desirable in such females, that is to say, they should 
first be capacious in the barrel, and inclining to fine 
in the head, neck and limbs. To guard against swing- 
ing too far in the direction of dairy form and to main- 
tain constitution, the sires ought to be kept in near 
conformity to*the high type of the beef form. 

Indications of Wool Production. — The indica- 
tions of capacity for wool production as to quantity 
are essentially the same as those which indicate 
capacity for good mutton production. Indications 
of the latter are given in Part II., Lecture No. 3 in 
''The Study of Breeds." The fact has been noticed 
that in the improvement of the mutton form in the 
breeds of sheep, there has also come a corresponding 
improvement in the growth of the wool as regards 
quantity, and in some respects as regards quality, as 
for instance, in increased strength of fiber. But it 
would be possible to push flesh production to the 
extreme of reacting against abundant wool produc 
tion. This may arise from the strengthening by selec- 
tion of that habit of the system fostered by abundant 



ANIMAL FORM INDEX OF QUALITIES. 289 

feeding which tends to produce meat rather than the 
covering for the same. The indications of capacity 
for improving the quality in wool would seem to be- 
long to breed rather than to form. But form also 
would seem to be a factor in such improvement. The 
statement is certainly true that extreme fineness in 
the wool has never yet been associated with the high- 
est type of development in the mutton form. It has 
been rather associated with that form which in a 
sense approximates to the dairy form in cattle. The 
less heat generated in such a form would seem to call 
for increasing density and fineness in the wool. But 
this great question cannot be further discussed here. 

Indications of Breeding and of Breeding Capac- 
ity. — In the form can be traced evidences of the de- 
gree in which improved blood is present or absent 
and of the particular breed or breeds from which 
it has come. These indications are especially valuable 
in the selection of grades, since they furnish safe 
data. for judgment based upon what is known of the 
economic value of such blood. To illustrate : When 
a grade steer has a compact form, a wide and level 
back, a white head bearing long, flat and spreading 
horns, and more or less white on the legs and under- 
line, it is safe to conclude with reference to him that 
he is rich in Hereford blood. Likewise an approx- 
imate estimate of the blood of the grades of any breed 
may be approximated by the nearness or otherwise to 
which they approach any pure breed which they 
resemble in form and color. 

The evidences of productive capacity in females 
is recognized in that form which has ample and 
symmetrical development accompanied by that ten- 
dency to refinement in the head, neck and limbs which 



290 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

belong to femininity of the most approved type, 
These indications are not easily described, but when 
once understood are readily recognized. The indica- 
tions of the same in males include, evidences of 
masculinity, as strength in the head, chest, neck and 
limbs, but without grossness, and they also include 
that inherent activity of movement begotten of irre- 
pressible vigor. These distinguishing evidences have 
in the judgment of the author been too much ignored 
by. the average judge at public exhibitions. 

Indications of Constitutional Vigor. — The lead- 
ing indications of constitutional vigor are beautifully 
illustrated in Fig. 9, an exact representation of the 
Shropshire Ram Diamond Prince, Imp. (542), 
144139, owned by Boynton & Welch, Dexter, Minn. 
They include the following: — 

1. A broad, deep and compact form, with coup- 
ling or barrel medium or less, rather than long. In 
all classes of animals more vigor and strength may be 
looked for when this form is present, rather than 
that which is opposite in character. Obesity may, 
however, reduce both strength and vigor in such a 
form, and its powers of locomotion and action gener- 
ally will probably be somewhat less than when these 
characteristics of form are really pronounced. 

2. A head short rather than long and wide be- 
tween the ears. This form of head through correla- 
tion has been found associated with a body, similar in 
kind, that is to say, a compact body. Much width 
between the ears is linked with large development 
of the spinal chord, which in turn is associated with 
nervous force. 

3. A full, clear eye. This reflects a vigorous 
condition of health, which in turn is the outcome of 
constitution. 



ANIMAL FORM INDEX OF QUALITIES. 



291 



£ 


'-£, f '.:"'' '*■'*' 












» 




t :~ ' 







292 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

4. A wide expansive nostril. This feature is as- 
sociated with roomy air passages, and a strong and 
vigorous play of the lungs. 

5. A short neck well rounded out and strong and 
full at the base. This indication like some of the 
others is an index of present strength, but by correla- 
tion it is also associated with a strong constitution. 
This feature, like some of the other indications of 
constitution, is more desirable in males, since in fe- 
males some of these in highest development are not 
favorable to abundant milk-production. 

6. A wide breast, broad brisket and capacious 
chest. These are associated with roominess within 
the chest cavity, hence, the vital forces within, as 
the heart and lungs, have abundant room for vigor- 
ous action. They also furnish that form which is 
the embodiment of strength. 

7. A good round deep spring of the ribs and 
closely spaced. Through correlation the round spring 
of rib follows much width through the chest and the 
deep rib the deep frame. The close spacing of the 
ribs prevents undue length in the coupling which is so 
far associated with weakness. The round and deep 
spring of ribs insures the capacious barrel, and this in 
turn is associated with the large consumption of food 
and vigorous digestion which are essential to robust- 
ness as well as utility. 

8. Deep full flanks. These are associated with 
sufficient heart and flank girth. The hind flank, 
especially, when thus filled, is indicative of an abun- 
dant nutrition. 

9. Limbs inclining to short and well apart and 
possessed of smooth joints. Short limbs by correlation 
accompany the compact body. Width between them 



ANIMAL FORM INDEX OF QUALITIES. 293 

accompanies width in the frame, and smooth joints 
indicate a correct nutrition. 

10. A lively carriage. This is the outcome of 
much power in the vital forces, and of much activity 
in the digestive processes driven by these. It would 
not now be possible to place all the above in the exact 
order of relative importance, but the wide breast, 
broad brisket, capacious chest and good heart girth 
should unquestionably be given the first place. Nor 
is it to be understood that a really vigorous constitu- 
tion cannot be obtained without all these indications 
being present in a marked degree, since in the run- 
ning horse length of limb is wanted, and in the dairy 
cow a neck long and fine. The absence of that de- 
velopment in these that would link them with the 
highest vigor is atoned for by marked indications of 
vigor in other directions. 

Indications of a Lack of Constitution. — These 
are of course the opposites of the indications given 
above. They have been discussed with some fullness 
in Chapter VII. But it will not be repeating to state 
that prominent among these are a dull eye, a long 
thin neck, a narrow chest and body, flat ribs, hollow 
flanks and long legs. 

Indications of an Active Nutrition. — Prominent 
among these are good handling, and associated with 
them are indications of strength of constitution, a 
large mouth and much barrel capacity. Good hand- 
ling has been discussed in Chapter XVIII. In apply- 
ing this test present condition as to flesh should al- 
ways be duly considered. In some instances nutrition 
naturally active has been perverted during the period 
of development. If perverted because of insufficient 
food supplies, the evidences of such perversion will 



294 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

remain more or less in an undue development of bone, 
large joints, a thick and unyielding skin, -and want 
of symmetry in form. The earlier the period at 
which such perversion takes place, and the more pro- 
longed it is, the more marked will be those instances. 
Nutrition is also perverted when it is too much drawn 
away from the purpose which it is most intended to 
serve, as when, for instance, the fleshing habit is too 
much encouraged in animals that are being grown 
for the dairy. 

Indications of a Good Quality of Flesh. — The 
chief indications of a good quality of flesh include the 
following : — 

1. Good general development of the meat-making 
form. This has already been discussed in the present 
chapter (see p. 286). Without such a form flesh will 
not be sufficiently present on the frame, including 
those parts where it is most valuable. It would be 
as reasonable to expect marked symmetry and adapta- 
tion in a building with an unsuitable framework, as 
to look for successful meat-production from a frame 
ill adapted to such production. 

2. Marked development in those parts of the 
body where the meat is most valuable as the back, loin 
and hind quarter in cattle and sheep, and the side and 
ham in swine. The loin and sirloin furnish the 
highest priced cuts in the carcass of horned cattle, 
hence it is specially important that these shall possess 
large development. 

3. Bone, moderate to fine, as evidenced in the 
head, horns, tail and limbs. With bone unduly coarse 
in these it will be so also through the entire frame- 
work, hence, the amount of the flesh will be lessened 
proportionately to the excess in the development of 



ANIMAL FORM INDEX OF QUALITIES. 295 

bone, and such a framework is almost certain to 
carry flesh coarse in the grain. 

• 4. The absence of coarseness of texture in horn 
and hoof. Such coarseness may be detected by ex- 
amining the grain of the same and also in some de- 
gree by the tendency in these to scale off. 

5. The absence of a thin, papery hide. Such 
a hide shows an insufficient nutrition and it covers 
flesh that is flabby and lacking in firmness. 

6. The absence of protuberance at the buttocks. 
The flesh in these is coarse in fiber and dry, and 
when markedly pronounced they accompany sparse 
laying on of internal fat and scant distribution of the 
same throughout the system. They also include the 
absence of undue development in the parts less val- 
uable, as the dewlap. But it would be easily possible 
to press this idea too far, since a wide and large 
brisket is absolutely essential to wide chest capacity 
so important in furnishing constitution, and yet the 
meat in the entire brisket is relatively quite low in 
price. 

7. The absence of patchiness in the outer sur- 
faces. Patchiness means development in which the 
flesh underneath the skin accumulates in puffs and 
rolls or ridges. These are most frequently seen at 
the rumps, ribs and shoulders. They are made up 
of soft oily fat and in addition to the low value of 
such flesh these patches indicate too much of a ten- 
dency to separate the fat and lean during the breeding 
period. 

8. The absence of the indications of old age. 
These are given below. With advancing age, in- 
creasing toughness of fiber may be looked for. Other 
indications of quality in flesh are given with more or 
less of directness in Chapter XVIII. 



296 



ANIMAL BREEDING. 




ANIMAL FORM INDEX OF QUALITIES. 297 

Indications of a Quiet Disposition. — Among the 
indications of a quiet disposition are: 1, A calm 
expression of the eye ; 2, An easy moderate play of 
the ears, which should also be of good size for the 
breed ; . and 3, The absence of tokens of timidity and 
unrest when approached. When the disposition is 
restless there is much movement of the ball of the eye, 
and a wariness that is not in keeping with the restful- 
ness which is necessary to secure well-doinff in domes- 
tic animals in a high degree. A quick play of the 
ears is also incompatible with the same. Quick move- 
ment of the ear and erection of the same in a con- 
siderable degree usually go together. But care 
should be taken to distinguish between the restful and 
the languid eye, and the sufficiently active and the 
drooping ear. Indications of timidity and unrest 
on being approached, as shown in more or less of rest- 
lessness of movement, are antagonistic to meat pro- 
duction in proportion as thej^ are present. But here 
also due allowance must be made for the character of 
the previous surroundings. Animals handled but 
little when young will all show much timidity at first 
when approached, but even in these the same will be 
manifested in different degrees. 

Indications of Nervous Force. — The indications 
of nervous force include: 1. An active eye and ear. 
There is a difference, however, between activity which 
is the outcome of strong vigor and abundant nerve 
power and activity which is the outcome of natural 
timidity and unrest. The first is always more or 
less present, and is not violent in its action. The 
second is the outcome of exciting causes which the 
animals always interpret, with or without reason, as 
danger signals. 2. A wide, expansive, and active 



298 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

nostril. The wide nostril favors free respiration, 
which in turn helps to strengthen all the vital powers. 
When thus strengthened, vigor is generated and like- 
wise nerve power. 3. A broad forehead. This means 
a large brain and frequently not a little of will power, 
which in a certain sense is nerve power. They also 
include, 4. A prominent and open spine. The large 
spine means also a large spinal column, that is to say, 
a large distributer of nervous energy. 5. Activity of 
movement. Here again that natural activity of move- 
ment which is easy and spontaneous should be dis- 
tinguished from fitful activity generated by disturb- 
ing causes. The first indicates the spontaneous ac- 
tion of strong and healthy nerves, the latter may indi- 
cate nerve power not under proper control. 

Indications of Present Bodily Health. — Chief 
among the prominent indications of present bodily 
health are the following: 1. A full bright eye. The 
moment that the general health becomes impaired the 
eye begins to lose its brightness, and as disease pro- 
gresses, it sinks and becomes languid, the immediate 
cause being lack of sustenance. 2. A moist, dewy 
muzzle. With derangement in the circulation and a 
rising temperature moistness in the muzzle, which is 
always abundant in a healthy animal, grows less,, the 
immediate cause being inactivity in the excretory 
organs. 3. A fairly active play of the ears. Such ac- 
tion is the evidence of generated power seeking op- 
portunity to expend itself. 5. A smooth, glossy coat. 
The same influences that produce elasticity in the 
hide produce glossiness in the coat. 6. An active car- 
riage. An active carriage bears testimony to health- 
ful action in all the organs of the system, and espe- 
cially of those concerned in digestion. ~No sooner 



ANIMAL FORM INDEX OF QUALITIES. 299 

do these organs lose \igor than there is a correspond- 
ing loss of freeness of movement and activity in the 
carriage. 

But natural disposition also affects action of the 
body in some degree. Nor is it possible to determine 
how much of an active carriage is to be attributed to 
natural organization or to good health. However, 
action the outcome of disposition will not long be 
maintained unless sustained by the support which 
comes from the healthy action of all the organs of 
the body. 

Indications of Old Age. — The indications of old 
age include: 1. Many wrinkles on the horns. These 
are only general indications of age, since there is 
not absolute uniformity in the time at which the 
first wrinkle appears, and it is probably true that a 
period is also reached in old age when, if made at all, 
they will become less well pronounced. Each wrinkle 
is supposed to represent a year, after the first two 
or three years have passed. This indication is only 
to be understood as general, rather than specific. 

2. Diminished prominence of the eye. The eye 
sinks in the orbit. It also gradually more and more 
loses the luster of youth. 

3. Usually more or less depression at the chine 
and sagging of the paunch. The first arises from the 
decrease in strength in the spinal column, without any 
decrease in weight in the paunch. The latter gradu- 
ally lowers with the weakening of the muscles that sus- 
tain it and repeated distensions of the stomach when 
packed with coarse food. 

4. Bareness of the shoulder blades and loin when 
otherwise in fair flesh. These are among the most 
difficult parts to cover when the secretions are active, 



300 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

and in consequence are among the first to suffer when 
the activity of the secretions begins to wane. 

5. Prominence of the bones, as at the shoulder 
points, hooks and rumps. This prominence is caused 
by the shrinking of the flesh that surrounds and covers 
these points. But the fact must not be overlooked, 
that insufficient food in a young animal will also 
produce these results at least in some degree. 

0. Harsh, dry handling of the hair. It handles 
thus because it is not well nourished, but such hand- 
ling may also arise from other causes. 

7. Lack -of activity of movement. When an 
animal has a labored gait and indications of good 
health are present it may be safely charged up to 
old age. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

SELECTION. 

The importance of the ability to select animals 
with skill and judgment when breeding them cannot 
easily be overestimated. In the absence of such 
ability mistakes will be made all along the line of 
the breeder's work. He will not be able to make 
improvement save in a sort of accidental way, nor 
will he be able to maintain it if perchance he should 
be so fortunate as to make it. His work as a breeder 
can never rise above the level of mediocrity, howso- 
ever much wisdom and care he may exercise in other 
respects in conducting his work. 

^Yhat is Meant by Selection. — Selection in 
breeding means the ability so to choose animals for 
propagating their kind, that, with proper care, a high 
standard of excellence will be acquired and main- 
tained. As implied in what has been said above, such 
ability is indispensable to the highest success in 
breeding. That it should be so is self evident, for 
it is onlv through the skillful mating of animals ac- 
companied by judicious management in other respects 
that improvement can be made. If the improvement 
thus secured is made the basis of wise selection, it 
will result in still further improvement, but in the 
absence of such selection it is likely to sink again to 
former levels. And yet, this acquisition, notwith- 
standing its great importance, is possessed in a high 
degree by the few only, even among breeders of pure 



302 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

breds. It is an acquisition that money alone cannot 
purchase. It is in itself an intuitive gift, but is sus- 
ceptible of cultivation in a high degree. The evi- 
dences of it are not found in show yard successes, un- 
less the animals who are winners have been bred by 
the exhibitor. They are manifest in the uniformity 
shown in the average of the herd or flock, in the high 
average of the standard of uniformity, and in the 
number of outstanding animals produced, that is to 
say, of animals of high excellence. 

The Necessity for Selection. — The necessity for 
selection is based on the tendencies to variation found 
in all animals. These tendencies have been referred 
to at length in Chapter IV. When they are down- 
ward as they frequently are, selection eliminates 
them. As is also shown in Chapter IV. the tendencies 
to variation that is downward manifest themselves 
more or less, howsoever skillfully the work of the 
breeder may be conducted. Such downward varia- 
tions may be eliminated lest they should be repro- 
duced in the progeny. When these variations are up- 
ward, selection utilizes them to secure still further 
improvement. The field that is thus opened up for 
improvement has no limitations other than those of 
the skill of the breeder and the inherent capacity 
of the animals which he breeds to be improved. It 
is reasonable therefore to expect that the greatest 
triumphs in breeding are yet to come. 

Selection Covers the Whole Art of Breeding.- — 
The art of breeding may in a sense be said to be 
epitomized in the one word selection, since it involves 
a consideration of every peculiarity of form and the 
application of every established principle of practice. 
While more attention must be given to those peculiar- 



SELECTION. 303 

ities of form that are important, no feature thereof 
can be overlooked. Even fancy points must not be 
lightly passed over as long as they are included \v 
the standard of excellence, and in fact as long as they 
have any traditional significance such as may affect 
market values. It is pre-supposed that the principles 
of practice referred to are correct, since sometimes 
practices prevail widely that tend to lower the level 
of attainment in breeding. The practice of breeding 
from sires too immature, which is of this character, is 
all too prevalent at the present time. 

Considerations Included in Selection, — Selec- 
tion in breeding includes the following among other 
considerations : 1. The breed in its relation to adapta- 
tion. 2. The choice of animals with reference to a 
standard of excellence. 3. The consideration of pedi- 
gree. 4. Individual merit in the animal. 5. Special 
care in the choice of sires. 6. Allowing no animals to 
come within the flock or herd which are liable to 
transmit undesirable characters, however excellent 
in themselves. 7. The unsparing elimination of all 
undesirable animals. And 8, Judicious mating. 
These various features pertaining to selection will 
in turn be further considered. 

Selection and Adaptation. — When determining' 
which breed or class of animals may be advantage- 
ously introduced into any particular locality, 
the character of the surroundings and the natural 
capabilities of the country should be most carefully 
considered, and that breed or class should be chosen 
which these natural conditions will best maintain. 
Any mistake in the choice thus made will hinder suc- 
cess, and in proportion to the degree of the mistake, 
even though the work in other respects should be 



304 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

judiciously carried on. Amateur farmers are much 
prone to allow what may be termed fancy preferences 
to lead them in this matter without giving due weight 
to the question of adaptation to the conditions. They 
overlook the fact that intrinsic merit is one thing 
and adaptation another, and that inherent suitability 
to some conditions may mean inherent unsuitability 
to other conditions. Hereford cattle have been found 
eminently adapted to the Southwestern ranges of the 
United States, hence, they should be freely grown 
there rather than on the arable farm where both milk 
and meat are wanted. Some other breed as Shorthorns 
and Red Polls, which are more suitable for meeting 
this combined need, should be kept on the arable 
farm rather than on Southwestern ranges. South- 
.down sheep are small in body and active in limb. 
Lincolns are large and massive. The former there- 
fore may prove profitable on upland and broken pas- 
tures of sparse production on which the latter would 
fail, and the latter may prove more profitable than 
the former on rich levels. 

Illustrations could be multiplied indefinitely. 
The attempt to maintain animals under conditions 
unadapted to their needs is likely to lead to failure, 
as shown in the results of the effort to improve 
Cheviot sheep while on their native pastures by cross- 
ing them with Leicester rams. The cross thus made 
created a tendency to increased size. The tendency 
thus created was not well sustained by the pastures, 
hence, eventually, the progeny of this cross were 
found inferior to pure Cheviot's and it had to be 
abandoned. It would of course be possible in some 
instances to so change the animals that their neces- 
sities would in time conform to the conditions of 



SELECTION. 305 

environment. But why engage in so perilous and 
profitless a work when breeds exist adapted to all 
the varied conditions that may arise ? 

Selection and Standards. — In breeding pure 
breds as intimated in Chapter II. the standard must 
conform to that which truly represents the breed 
whether that standard is drawn up by an association 
or not. Any distinct variation from the recognized 
standard, especially in the foundation animals, is 
likely to lead to similar variation in the progeny, and 
any distinct variation in the choice of sires is likely 
to lead to modification of type. While distinct va- 
riation is thus to be shunned, it is not to be shunned 
to the exclusion of what may be termed outstanding 
individuality in individuals, especially when that 
individuality is of the character of improvement. 
For instance, more than average fullness in the Here- 
ford thigh should be welcomed, though marked full- 
ness there is more characteristic of the Shorthorn. 

- In breeding grades the breeder has much more 
latitude. He can fix his own type. But it must 
first be clearly defined in his own mind, and in fixing 
it due recognition should be given to useful qualities 
and to the needs of the market. Progress will be more 
rapid and success more pronounced when the founda- 
tion animals are possessed of similarity rather than 
of divergent characters. For instance, when select- 
ing foundation animals for a Shorthorn herd, uni- 
fication or resemblance in the progeny will be more 
complete when the foundation females have similar- 
ity of type rather than divergence in the same. 
But even when such dissimilarity does exist, pre- 
potent males may ere long produce unification. 

Selection in Pedigree. — In the absence of pedi- 



306 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

gree there can be no certainty in transmission except 
in the case of animals of known purity of breeding. 
For instance, early in the nineteenth century, South- 
down sires were used in the formation of certain 
breeds as the Hampshire and the Oxford. They were 
so used because of the known prepotency which they 
possessed, although at that time pedigrees as such 
were not kept of the breed. But for many genera- 
tions previously Soiithdowns had been bred pure. They 
had, what may be termed, unwritten pedigrees. The 
relation between certainty in transmission and purity 
of breeding has been shown in Chapter III. But 
even when pedigree is present, transmission may be 
of a character far from desirable, as has been wit- 
nessed in very many instances. Such transmission 
however is not to be charged' up against pedigree as 
such, but rather to pedigree linked with inferiority, 
the result of improper breeding. It follows therefore 
that selection in pedigree is more important than pedi- 
gree in itself. The best pedigree is that which has 
the largest number of animals in it distinguished 
for high merit. But this definition should be modi- 
fied by the further proviso, that the value of the 
pedigree is enhanced by excellence in the near rather 
than in the remote ancestry. (See p. 273.) The 
little attention that is given to pedigree in the choice 
of sires is costing the United States millions of dollars 
every year. 

Selection and Individual Merit. — Xo selection 
of any kind is admissible in breeding that is not 
possessed of at least fair individual merit, even 
though it should be selection based on the best pedi- 
grees that exist. High individual merit means the 
possession in a marked degree of the useful qualities 



SELECTION. 307 

essential to the breed. Opinion differs as to the 
relative value of individual merit and pedigree. The 
tendency has been to exalt pedigree over individual 
merit. In discussing this question, the character of 
the pedigree should be most carefully considered. If 
it is possessed of no other merit than its length, then 
unquestionably individual merit is more important 
than pedigree, for transmission cannot then be of a 
high order. If, however, the pedigree has in it many 
animals noted for individual merit, then pedigree 
becomes relatively more important", since the trans- 
mission may resemble the near ancestors quite as 
much as the parent. . 

This explains the fact not infrequently observed, 
that some sires which never won prizes themselves, 
because of want of the requisite individual merit, 
have begotten animals noted for a successful show 
yard career. If the choice must be made between 
individual merit and pedigree, the former should be 
given the first place, since the danger is always im- 
minent, that a pedigreed animal inferior in its in- 
dividuality will transmit its own qualities to the prog- 
eny rather than those of its ancestors which may have 
been superior. In choosing breeding animals the aim 
should be to combine high individual merit and ex- 
cellence in pedigree. The most suitable animals for 
breeding, therefore, are those possessed of the best 
pedigrees and also the highest individual merit. 

Selection and the Sire. — Special care should be 
exercised in the choice of the sire, since he is likely to 
exert an influence on the stud, breed or flock, equal to 
the sum of the influence exerted by all the females 
of the same, when as male and female they stand on 
an equal plane with reference to breeding and indi- 



308 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

viduality. In this comparison it is presupposed that 
but one sire is used in the stud, herd or flock. If, 
however, the male should be superior in both these 
respects, the influence which he exerts on the progeny 
is likely to be proportionately superior to that of the 
conjoined influence exerted by the females of the 
same. It will be as much superior to the sum of the 
influence exerted by all the females, as the individual- 
ity of the sire conjoined with his prepotency exceeds 
the same in each individual female. 

It is thus apparent, that the statement so often 
repeated, that the male is half the herd may not tell 
the whole truth. He may indeed be much more than 
half the herd, especially when he is pure bred and 
the females are mixed in breeding. The most im- 
portant qualities in the male in addition to good 
lineage and high individuality, are masculinity, bodi- 
ly vigor and prepotency. Masculinity and bodily 
vigor so far evidence the presence of prepotency. 
(See p. 107.) Observation has shown that both, as a 
rule, tend to accentuate the impressiveness, that is 
to say, the prepotency of the sire. 

Selection and Undesirable Transmission. — Se- 
lection should most rigidly exclude the admittance 
of animals into the herd that are liable to admit un- 
desirable characters, notwithstanding their individual 
excellence. Such are animals in whose near ancestry 
have been shy breeders, indifferent performers, and 
those which have evidenced a tendency to certain 
forms of disease. Shy breeding will influence profit- 
able returns adversely in addition to the disappoint- 
ment which it brings, and it is certainly transmissible 
even to the extent of becoming a herd trait. A dairy 
cow may have great beauty of form, but she is low in 



SELECTION. 309 

milk production. She also comes of an ancestry in- 
different in milk production. Her beauty of form 
should not entitle her to a place in the breeding herd, 
since she is not likely to produce good milkers. The 
exclusion of animals as breeders which have evidenced 
a tendency to certain forms of disease should be most 
rigid, as, for instance, horses with tendencies to 
spavin, cattle with leanings to tuberculous diseases, 
sheep affected with goitre and swine whose limbs are 
weak. The germs of undesirable qualities thus ad- 
mitted may crop out for generations, howsoever ju- 
dicious the breeding may be that follows their ad- 
mittance. 

Selection and Unsparing Elimination. — The se- 
lection of breeding animals should be of that character 
which will rigidly and persistently eliminate all 
animals possessed of undesirable characters. It 
should extend : — 

1. To all animals below the average in essentials 
as to form, otherwise a high average of excellence can 
never be reached, nor if reached could it be main- 
tained. There will be that lack of resemblance to one 
another that should not obtain between animals of 
the same pure breed. 

2. To all such animals as are poor feeders and 
indifferent producers. The first will not give a 
profitable return for the food fed, and transmission 
from them would also be undesirable. 

3. To all shy breeders whether male or female, 
and to those deficient in fecundity. Xon-breeders 
are simply a bill of expense and shy breeders are 
unprofitable' in proportion as they fail to breed regu- 
larly. When more than one may be produced at a 
birth the profits are proportionate to the numbers 



310 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

produced up to the limit of capability to produce and 
nurse properly young animals not below the normal 
standard. 

4. To those which have shown themselves 
lacking in prepotency. Lack of prepotency in the 
male would be far more serious than deficiency in the 
same in the female. Especially would this be true 
in the breeding of grades. (See Chapter XXVI.) 
But in the breeding of pure breds prepotency in the 
female also is of much value. The elimination of 
unprepotent males should be most unsparing, since 
to breed from them may result in much loss. 

5. To those among pure breds possessed of color 
markings which are highly objectionable. Such would 
be color markings which bar from registry in pure 
breds, and color markings which seriously discount 
the selling value of animals, though they may not bar 
them from registry. Such would be Shorthorn males 
white in color. This course should be adopted though 
the animals should be possessed of high merit, since 
the power of fashion with reference to fancy points 
is stronger to compel rejection than the power of good 
individuality linked with objectionable color mark- 
ings is to overcome such prejudice. 

6. To all who have passed the meridian of best 
usefulness through old age, unless in the case of 
breeding animals of rare value. Such dams are more 
costly to keep, are not so likely to produce animals of 
high individual merit as at an earlier age, and are 
not so likely to nourish them so well during the nurs- 
ing period. 

7. To those animals which give indications of ab- 
normal tendencies. Even though these tendencies 
should be inherently unobjectionable in themselves, 



SELECTION. 311 

their elimination should be of the most unspa ring- 
character. Such would be the absence of horns in 
any of the horned breeds, unless the accidental va- 
riation thus manifested were to be utilized in pro- 
ducing a hornless breed. How much more then would 
it be fitting to eliminate all such variations as are 
objectionable in themselves. All such animals should 
be sent quickly to the block. They ought not to 
be sold as breeders. The ethics of the golden rule 
would forbid such sales. 

Selection and Judicious Mating. — Animals 
should be so mated that their mutual weaknesses will 
be likely to be corrected, and with that object in view 
they should be selected accordingly. For instance, 
suppose a herd of Tamworth swine becomes unduly 
lengthy in the barrel or coupling, and that they are 
also too long of limb. The proper selection of a 
male to correct these defects would mean choosing 
one with requisites of form bearing in the opposite 
direction, and so of all mating. Where points are 
weak in one sex they should be strong in the other. 
The eventual outcome will be an equilibrium in de- 
velopment. In small herds or flocks such mating may 
be impossible in practice, for a time at least, when a 
marked diversity exists in the females, since in such 
herds or flocks it is usually impracticable to keep 
but one male. The evening up process in such herds 
therefore will be more prolonged, and while it pro- 
gresses, the elimination of undesirable variations 
should of course be continued. It may also be men- 
tioned that violent crosses should be avoided. For 
the fuller discussion of this question as also the whole 
question of mating see Chapter XXX. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

CROSS BREEDING. 

Cross breeding may be so conducted under cer- 
tain limitations that it will become a source of profit 
while in other instances, under different conditions, 
it will be a source of loss. Again, it may be so con- 
ducted as to prove a stepping stone to improvement, 
while in yet other instances it may lead to retrogres- 
sion. It will be the object in this chapter to so in- 
vestigate the question that some at lea^t of the benefits 
to be derived from cross breeding under suitable con- 
ditions may be pointed out, and likewise some of the 
evils that flow from injudicious cross breeding, that 
the breeder may be enabled to shun them. 

Definition of the Term Cross Bred. — In the 
highest and strictest use of the term it may be said 
that a cross bred is the progeny of two distinct breeds. 
For instance, suppose the Hereford and Shorthorn 
breeds are crossed, and then only Hereford or Short- 
horn sires were used for a number of generations, the 
progeny would still be cross breds. Ultimately they 
would of course become possessed of all the essential 
characteristics of Herefords, or Shorthorns, according 
as the sires were chosen from the one or the other of 
these breeds. Still, they would not be recognized as 
pure. The term may also be applied and with some 
propriety to the progeny of animals possessed in 
various degrees of the blood chiefly of but two breeds. 
For instance, suppose a high grade Hereford and a 



CROSS BREEDING. 313 

high grade Shorthorn are mated the progeny is called 
a cross bred. The term cross bred is also frequently 
applied, though improperly, to the progeny of animals 
from two different families or tribes within the same 
pure breed. Suppose that Booth and Bates cattle are 
mated, the mating is spoken of as a cross, which in 
reality it is not in the sense of crossing breeds. It is 
only a cross in the sense of crossing families or tribes 
within a breed, which in reality is not a cross. In 
the proper use of the term there cannot be a cross in 
the absence of alien blood. But, for convenience, and 
because of the want of a more specific word, the terms 
crossing, making a cross, out breeding and cross 
breeding are frequently applied to the mating of those 
different families and tribes. 

Cross Breeding and Early Improvement. — Cross 
breeding Avas a favorite method of seeking improve- 
ment in animals before the time of Bakewell. In 
fact it would probably be correct to say that it was 
one -of the chief means by which improvement was 
sought. The door for practicing it among pure breds 
stood then wide open, as it was before the age of 
herdbooks. The advent of these have probably for- 
ever closed that door. The idea probably grew out 
of the observed fact, which is true, that increased 
vigor was imparted by it, and in many instances 
individual improvement. It would not be correct to 
say that all cross breeding brings renovating pow T er 
any more than it would be correct to say that all 
cross breeding brings individual improvement, but 
in many instances it does both. 

The instances in which it will effect improve- 
ment, or the opposite, cannot certainly be predicted 
beforehand. This question is one of the great deeps 



314 ANIMAL BREEDING-. 

in which the investigator still flounders. The prob- 
able results must rest on experience. When cross 
breeding was carried on without any definite plan, 
these early breeders found the results were usually 
disappointing in the end. So it is to-day and so it 
will" be always. Yet the fact is to be recognized that 
the abundant crossing practiced by those early breed- 
ers, especially in Great Britain, gave to many of the 
animals of the eighteenth century a plasticity of con- 
stitution that prepared them for the quick improve- 
ment which followed, and which was sought, on what 
may be termed the Bakewell system already outlined. 
(See page 2.) 

Three Methods of Cross Breeding. — Three meth- 
ods of cross breeding have been adopted, viz, : 1. Con- 
tinuing to interfuse the blood of two breeds indefinite- 
ly ; 2, Making the results of the first series of crosses 
the basis of a new breed ; and 3, introducing the cross 
for a time to remedy some particular defect, or to 
secure some desirable quality. 

The first of these methods has not proved satis- 
factory. Experience in practicing it has shown that 
the results, like the swing of a pendulum, are first 
forward and then backward. They do not advance 
beyond a certain level. Such breeding tends to pro- 
duce variation, and variation that is vexatiously va- 
riable and uncertain. 

Nor can it be said that the second method has 
proved a great success, where a regard has not been 
had to a most rigorous selection in the progeny. Such 
a selection is imperative, since the tendency to varia- 
tion is always accelerated by cross breeding. When 
however such crossing has been judiciously done, and 
the selection following has been rigid and wise, great 



CROSS BREEDING. 315 

service has been rendered, as the history of many 
of the improved breeds will show that have been 
evolved from composite materials. 

The third method has been turned to good ac- 
count more especially in the improvement of grades. 
For instance, when improved mutton qualities were 
sought in the Hampshire breed, these were obtained 
through Cotswold crosses, and when the wool of the 
Shropshire was to be lengthened, this also was effected 
through Cotswold crosses. Suppose one is breeding 
a grade flock of sheep and he finds they are losing- 
size. He may introduce an outcross from some larger 
breed. Having made the cross he may at once return 
to the old line of breeding. For instance, suppose 
that a breeder of grades has high grade Shropshires 
that are degenerating in size and also in the length of 
the wool staple, by introducing an Oxford Down cross 
he will increase both the size of the progeny and the 
length of the fleece. Having made the improvement 
he can at once go on breeding from Shropshires, if 
that is the sheep which has shown itself reasonably 
well suited to his conditions. When such crosses are 
made, preference should be given to those breeds 
which will effect improvement with the least change 
as to form and color in the progeny. In the illustra- 
tion given above the Oxford Dcwr cross would be 
preferable to the Lincoln, for the reason just given. 
In effecting such change in high grade Leicesters the 
Lincoln cross would seem preferable to the Oxford 
Down. 

Cross Breeding and Improvement. — Cross breed- 
ing has rendered invaluable service in the formation 
of new breeds. But few breeds of cattle, sheep and 
swine have been evolved during the recent centuries 



316 



ANIMAL BREEDING. 




OROSS BREEDING. 317 

without resorting to more or less of crossing in the 
foundation animals and for a few generations sub- 
sequently. In this way among the breeds of sheep 
the Hampshire Downs and the Oxford Downs were 
evolved and among swine the Poland Chinas and 
Duroc Jerseys. Some, however, of the old breeds, as 
Galloway cattle and Leicester sheep, would seem to 
have been improved entirely by selections within the 
breed. Cross breeding has also rendered great serv- 
ice in the improvement of old breeds, as shown in the 
improvement effected in certain of the long-wooled 
breeds by the use of Leicester sires. But all this was 
done before the period of public registration. Rec- 
ords shut off the possibility of attempting to bring 
renovation in this way. The benefits that are to be 
secured from cross breeding in the future will of 
necessity be confined to grade stocks. On this prin- 
ciple, in the new breeds that will yet be evolved, cross 
breeding must cease as soon as public records come 
to' be kept. 

When cross breeding is resorted to in the forma- 
tion of new breeds, a most careful regard must be had 
to selection in the animals produced by the earlier 
crosses, and indeed by all the crosses. Those animals 
with undesirable variations must be most rigidly 
eliminated. Uniformity will be hindered or facil- 
itated in proportion to the fidelity shown in such 
elimination. The judicious inbreeding of these for 
a time will also further intensify and render perma- 
nent the improvement, although the two systems are 
apparently the opposite. (See Chapter X.) 

Cross Breeding and Undesirable Variations. — 
Where two distinct breeds are crossed when the ani- 
mals have about equal powers of transmission, there 



\ 

318 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

is frequently a tendency to produce undesirable va- 
riations, more especially when the work is carried 
further than the first cross. The reasons for this 
cannot be fully given in the present state of our 
knowledge. The fact has been recognized that the 
original characters common to both are likely to be 
made more dominant, and special characters, that is, 
characters secured by improvement, are likely to 
be obscured. In other words the tendency is toward 
retrogression. The greater the contrast of the two 
breeds, the stronger is the tendency frequently to 
obscure the best characters of each, and also to restore 
the original characters of each. It is not surprising 
therefore that the introduction of alien blood has in 
many instances given a tendency to reversion. Let 
it be observed, however, that it is when the breeds 
have about equal prepotency that these results are 
most marked. It would seem like unto a war of blood 
elements for the mastery, with the curious result 
that atavic tendencies are strengthened. When one 
breed so crossed is decidedly the more prepotent, the 
atavic tendencies are proportionately obscured. 

Crossing a Netv Upon an Older Breed. — When 
the attempt is made to engraft the characters of a 
composite though a distinct breed upon one that is 
more ancient, it may be necessary first to weaken the 
dominant characters of the latter by intercrossing it 
with some other breed or type, and then crossing the 
composite breed upon the progeny. Composite here 
is but another name for new, for the newer breeds are 
all composite. It is this newness which gives a less 
prepotency than that possessed by the ancient breeds. 
To illustrate: Suppose it were desired to engraft 
Oxford Down characters upon the Merino, the process 



CROSS BREEDING. 319 

would be hastened by first diluting the Merino blood 
by crossing upon Merino some other breed, and then 
following with the Oxford Down cross. The process 
would probably be further hastened by first crossing 
one distinct breed on the pure Merino, as the South- 
down, and then on other pure Merinos another dis- 
tinct breed, as the Shropshire, next intercrossing the 
cross breds from each, and then following up with a 
succession of Oxford Down crosses. The tendencies 
to reversion to Merino characteristics would thus be 
more quickly removed than by making a succession 
of straight Oxford Down crosses at the first. The 
reasons will be apparent. The more ancient breed, 
the Merino, has greater power to resist change. This 
is owing to the greater accumulation of dominant 
characters within it, and to the more complete incor- 
poration of these in the system as a whole. When the 
potency of Merino blood has been weakened, as indi- 
cated, the way is paved for the blood of the newer 
breed, the Oxford Down, to assert its supremacy. 

Crossing for Increased Size. — When the attempt 
is made to improve the size of an established breed 
either in the pure or high graded form, by crossing 
upon it a larger breed, a due regard must be had to 
improved conditions of keep, that is to say, to fur- 
nishing increased food supplies, since the tendency 
to increase in size will demand more liberal feeding 
and very probably somewhat modified conditions of 
exercise and protection from exposure. When these 
are not forthcoming the disturbance in the equilib- 
rium of the system may result disastrously. The 
tendency to' increased size calls for the consumption 
of more food, and if the pastures do not furnish it, 
unless supplemented in some way, the tendencies thus 



320 ANIMAL BREEDINGS. 

imparted to the system in the direction of increased 
size results in deranged growth, which means unsatis- 
factory growth. Thus it is, that mistakes grievous in 
character have been made in the attempt to secure 
increased size. 

The last condition of the breed thus crossed has 
been found greatly inferior to the same when cross- 
ing began. Thus it was, that attempts to improve 
the Cheviots by crossing the larger Leicester upon 
them failed, and likewise the attempts to improve 
the Black-faced Highland sheep by crossing them with 
the Cheviots. Because of this, the attempt should not 
be made to introduce on to the ranges, or on to rugged 
and ungenerous pastures where animals must gather 
their own food during much of the year, those breeds 
in which the standard of size cannot be readily main- 
tained by the natural conditions. 

Crossing Females to he Sent to the Block. — 
Cross breeding may sometimes be resorted to when 
seeking progeny from the females of a breed, which, 
along with their dams are to be fed for the block. 
Illustrations are furnished by the Black-faced High- 
land and Cheviot breeds of sheep, at least in many 
instances, when the ewes are to be put upon the 
market the following season. The ewes thus drafted 
are frequently driven down to lower pastures. They 
are then crossed with rams of a larger breed, and 
along with their progeny are in due time sent to 
market. The same plan may some day be adopted 
with aged females from the American ranges. It 
would ~also be legitimate to select such ewes at a 
younger age and breed thus from them yearly, until 
they are finally disposed of. It is at least question- 
able if, in ordinary farm practice, cross breeding 



CROSS BREEDING. 321 

should be carried much further than has been out- 
lined above. 

This statement, however, has some limitations. 
Exceptions to it are found in those instances already 
referred to in which one outcross may be introduced 
for a specific purpose and also in the case of high 
grade Dorset sheep, when the object is to combine the 
property of producing in the autumn with a more 
perfect mutton form than that possessed by the Dor- 
set. But, let it be observed, that the general principle 
thus laid down does not apply to improvement 
through grading, which is discussed in the following 
chapter. The distinction between these should be 
carefully preserved. 

Cross Breeding on the Ordinary Farm. — Cross 
breeding should not be commonly practiced by the 
breeder in his ordinary operations for the reasons, 1, 
that it would too much tend to destroy the identity of 
breeds ; 2, the results are frequently very uncertain ; 
3, it .would render pure bred females less capable of 
again breeding true to type ; and 4, it would probably 
result in financial loss generally. These several re- 
sults to which it leads will be further discussed below. 

Cross Breeding and Breed Identity. — That the 
crossing of pure bred animals would destroy breed 
identity needs no demonstration, since animals thus 
crossed could not be registered. And such crossing, 
if it became general, would prove fatal to records. 
These are supported by all the breeders of pure bred 
stock in America. They are considered indispensable 
to the maintenance of a high standard of excellence. 
Such breeding, therefore, would run counter to 
focused opinion from all the breeders of pure breds 
on the continent, if not indeed in the world. It would 



322 AHlMAL BREEDING. 

prove fatal to the integrity of breeds. Even though 
the immediate results from such a cross wert an im- 
provement, they would eventually prove dis *?trous, 
since sooner or later such crossing would tent I to the 
disposal of all the material from which such crosses 
could be made. 

Such a contingency once threatened the Aber- 
deen Angus breed when the Shorthorn Aberdeen 
Angus cross was so popular in Scotland many years 
ago. Had the integrity of the Aberdeen Angus breed 
been destroyed at that time, the results would have 
proved calamitous to the live stock interest. Such 
crossing would also be fatal to that potency for im- 
proving grades which in so marked a degree is pos- 
sessed by animals of the pure breeds. The reasons 
for this have already been given. (See p. 31.) In 
fact such crossing would just be undoing the great 
grand work which the builders of pure breeds have 
done. 

Cross Breeding and Uncertainty in Results. — 
As already intimated, the results from cross breeding 
are frequently very uncertain. In some' instances 
the outcome is an improvement on either ancestor, 
owing to what may be termed an affinity in dominant 
characters. Such are the results frequently obtained 
from crossing Galloways upon West Highland cattle. 
This affinity would seem to bring along with it reno- 
vating power. Such renovating power would seem 
to be in a sense inherent, as the outcome of a cross. 
In some instances it would be striking, as when vigor- 
ous Tamworth swine are crossed upon the Poland 
China swine of the corn belt, But in the present state 
of our knowledge, such improvement cannot be cer- 
tainly assured before it has been demonstrated by 
actual test. 



CROSS BREEDING. 323 

In other instances the progeny is inferior to 
either ancestor, owing to what may be termed antag- 
onism in dominant characters, which begets a tend- 
ency to reversion. Such would seem to be the out- 
come when Herefords are crossed upon Galloways. 
Why there should be affinity in some instances in 
dominant characters and want of affinity in others is 
one of those deep questions in breeding that cannot 
be measured by the measuring lines of to-day. Some 
of the probable results from crossing may, however, 
be prejudged beforehand, as, for instance, when the 
more robust Simmen thaler animal is crossed upon 
the more refined Jersey, increased vigor will assuredly 
result. Again when the Jersey is crossed upon the 
Holstein, an increase in butter fat in the milk 
may be confidently looked for, and when the Holstein 
is crossed upon the Jersey an increase in the milk 
product may be looked for with equal confidence. 
But whether the blending will result in all round im- 
provement or in general retrogression cannot be 
confidently prejudged beforehand in the absence of 
previous experience. Since many of the results of 
crosses yet untried cannot with any degree of cer- 
tainty be foretold, there are always some elements 
of hazard present except when the crossing is based 
on the determinations of previous experience. 

Cross Breeding and Type. — Cross breeding ren- 
ders pure bred females less capable of again breeding 
true to type wdien bred again to males of the breed to 
which they belong. This is owing to the influence 
of one impregnation on succeeding ones, as shown in 
Chapter XIV. The value of such females for future 
breeding would, therefore, be so far impaired. But 
there may be instances in which such breeding would 



324 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

be legitimate, as when females were to be thus bred 
repeatedly to males of another" breed because of the 
excellence of the results obtained. 

Cross Breeding and Financial Results. — Cross 
breeding, unless in the exceptions already given, would 
be more likely to result in financial loss than in 
financial gain. The pure progeny of any one of the 
pure breeds that may be crossed, should have a greater 
money value than the cross bred progeny of the same. 
This at least is true of them, as long as they are capa- 
ble of breeding in good form. If this were not true 
there would not be sufficient reasons for maintaining 
the breed in the pure form. If the day ever comes 
in the history of any breed, when, in the pure form, 
the value of the average animal is worth no more 
than that of the average cross bred from the same, the 
argument for maintaining such a breed in its purity 
would be gone. If it were not true that pure breds 
are usually more valuable than their cross bred prog- 
eny pure breeds would be wiped out of existence, and 
this would of course react disastrously upon live stock 
production. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

IMPROVEMENT THROUGH GRADING. 

The improvement of live stock through grading 
is a matter of much moment to those engaged in 
breeding grade stock, and this includes the great mass 
of the farmers. It would be no exaggeration to say 
that through this process alone, in less than half a 
dozen generations the value of the live stock on the 
continent of America could be improved at least from 
25 to 50 per cent., providing a sufficient number of 
pure bred sires of the various pure breeds could be 
secured for service, and this general improvement 
would of course be accompanied by a gradual increase 
in purity of breeding, so that by the time half a dozen 
generations and probably a less number had been pro- 
duced through using pure bred sires from some pure 
breed, it would not be possible to distinguish the ani- 
mals thus graded from pure breds of that breed, be- 
cause of the closeness of the resemblance in form and 
also in qualities. 

A Grade Defined. — A grade strictly speaking is 
the offspring of a pure bred and an animal of com- 
mon or mixed breeding. Either the male or female 
may be pure, but in practice the male is usually pure 
and the female of mixed blood. The reasons for 
breeding thus will be apparent when it is remembered 
that to mate pure females with males of mixed blood 
would be to lessen the value of the offspring. Xor 
could a sufficient number of females be secured for 



326 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

such breeding. But the term grade is also applied 
to the offspring of two animals of common or mixed 
breeding. Such a use of the term, however, should 
not be confounded with the use of the term cross bred, 
sometimes used in a sense nearly but not quite sim- 
ilar. 

It is not easy to give to a nicety all the shades of 
distinction that appertain to the use of these terms 
as they have been applied in the past. Strictly 
speaking, however, it is necessary, that in breeding 
grades, one ancestor shall be pure and the other of 
mixed breeding. Whereas, in breeding cross breds 
both ancestors are pure. But in a looser sense the 
parents of cross breds may each possess the blood 
elements of two breeds the same in kind, although 
it is not necessary that they shall possess these in 
the same degrees, whereas each of the parents of 
grades may be possessed of the blood elements of 
more than two breeds. To state the question more 
briefly cross breds may sometimes mean the progeny 
of cross breds, and grades may sometimes mean the 
progeny of grades. A grade, therefore, may contain 
any percentage of the blood of one breed less than 
one hundred. 

A High Grade Defined. — A high grade is an ani- 
mal of mixed breeding, in which the blood of a pure 
bred largely predominates. To obtain this marked 
predominance in pure blood elements, it must possess 
at least three or four crosses of the same, and may 
possess any number beyond this. In all leading es- 
sentials it may be practically equal to. a pure bred, 
but it cannot be recorded. In stamina it may be 
superior to a pure bred, owing to the renovating in- 
fluence which the judicious blending of blood seems 



IMPROVEMENT THROUGH GRADING. 327 

to bring with . it. This explains why, in fat " stock 
contests, high grade animals are usually the winners 
when shown against pure breds. 

Object in Breeding Grades. — The object in 
breeding grades is to secure a higher average of ex- 
cellence among common stocks, hence it is frequently 
spoken of as grading up. This object is usually 
sought through the use of pure bred males upon fe- 
males of common or mixed breeding, since to use 
sires of common or mixed breeding upon pure bred 
females, as shown above, would be breeding down 
rather than up. Such breeding would not only be 
foolish, but it would also be in a sense impracticable, 
owing to the relatively small number of the females 
that could be obtained for such breeding. 

Benefit from Up-Grading. — The great advantage 
in grading up lies in the ingrafting of the charac- 
teristics of a superior breed upon an inferior one, for 
the purpose of improving the latter. The improve- 
ment is due to the superior qualities of the males 
used. This superiority has reference not only to in- 
dividual qualities, but also in degree even greater to 
the superior power which such a parent has to trans- 
mit such qualities to the offspring. But the improve- 
ment thus secured cannot be maintained unless ac- 
companied by suitable care and management. For 
instance suppose that a choice pure bred male is mated 
with common females, a tendency to improved form 
will be begotten in the progeny. If this tendency is 
not sustained by liberal feeding, the promised im- 
provement .will not be realized. Along with this 
tendency to improved form may be transmitted less 
ability to withstand the more or less hard conditions 
to which the dams may have been subjected. If no 



328 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

improvement is made in these conditions, then im- 
provement is not likely to be made, mnch less main- 
tained, in the progeny. Improved blood, therefore, 
without suitable care and feeding, will not effect 
the improvement looked for by those who introduce 
it. 

Plan to Follow in Up-Grading. — The plan to 
be adopted in up-grading would be substantially as 
follows : — 

1. Decide upon the breed to be chosen for effect- 
ing improvement,- that is to say, decide upon the breed 
from which the sires shall be chosen. The influences 
that should determine such choice are such as en- 
vironment, the present and prospective market de- 
mands, the intrinsic merit of the breed and the prefer- 
ences of the individual. On no account should a 
breed be introduced into unsuitable environment 
when kept for the profit that is in it. Such would be 
the introduction of Lincoln sheep on to mountain pas- 
tures, or Shorthorn cattle on to the soils low in produc- 
tive power. When the present and prospective market 
demands favor animals of a certain size and breed, 
as they sometimes do, the profits should be greater 
than could be obtained from breeds for which there 
was less demand. At the present time this would lead 
to the selection of dark faced rams of the Down breeds 
in preference to Merino rams when seeking to grade 
up mutton sheep. The breed should also be possessed 
of much intrinsic merit, as shown by its previous his- 
tory, and if the choice of the breed is in the line of 
the preferences of the individual, more interest will 
naturally be taken in its development. 

2. Choose pure sires of high individuality from 
the same breed as frequently as they may be wanted, 



IMPROVEMENT THROUGH GRADING. 329 

Such choosing will be sufficiently frequent to avoid in- 
and-in breeding. If the sires were line bred and wise- 
ly chosen, uniformity in the animals that are being 
graded up would be attained more speedily, but those 
not skilled in the art of breeding would be more likely 
to succeed by choosing wholly unrelated sires. 

3. Cross the first sire chosen upon females of 
common or mixed, breeding, since such material is not 
costly, and continue to use the sires thus chosen from 
generation to generation, upon the selected females 
of the progeny. The blood elements in the founda- 
tion females, though a factor of some importance, is 
not so important as form in the same. For instance, 
when grading up a flock of sheep for mutton uses, if 
the foundation females should be largely of Merino 
blood, the process will be slower than if they possessed 
mainly the blood of some of the mutton breeds. But 
it is important that they shall have as good form as 
the average of the class furnishes, otherwise, the 
grading up will cover a longer period than is really 
necessary. The stocks therefore which constitute the 
foundation females should be selected when prac- 
ticable and selection should be made from each gen- 
eration of the progeny, always rejecting those below 
a certain standard. 

High Grade Sires not Suitable. — The practice 
of using high grade sires to effect improvement is to 
be discouraged, where good pure breds can be obtained 
at reasonable rates, as dominant characters in them 
have been so little intensified that the results are 
likely to be variable. The strong temptation to in- 
troduce such a sire into the stud, herd or flock should 
be resisted, notwithstanding any individual excellence 
which he may possess, but such a sire when prepotent, 



330 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

and in rare instances those sires are, is to be preferred 
to a pure bred of inferior individuality. The latter 
may reproduce his own individuality on the offspring. 
Zigzag Grading to be Shunned. — What may be 
termed zigzag grading ought not to be practiced. 
Such grading means a frequent change in the breed 
from which the sires are chosen. The results from 
such a course of breeding will be increasingly va- 
riable and uncertain, the longer that it is pursued. 
Suppose a pure Shropshire sire has been crossed upon 
grade ewes of mixed breeding, the progeny will be 
possessed of much resemblance to the Shropshires in 
form, appearance and qualities. Improvement has 
been made in a certain direction, that is to say, in 
the direction of Shropshire characteristics. Suppose 
that a Lincoln cross follows. Improvement in the 
line of Shropshire characteristics is arrested, and 
diverted in the direction of Lincoln characteristics. 
Increase in size will follow, and in the length of the 
fleece, but the latter will have lost in density, and the 
fiber of the muscle will be somewhat less fine in the 
grain. It may be found that the size is too great for 
the pastures to sustain, and a Southdown cross is next 
introduced. There will then follow a decrease in 
size and in the length and weight of the fleece, but 
it will be finer and the same will be true of the fiber 
of the muscle. A Shropshire cross follows, and there 
is further modification in the direction of the results 
obtained from the first cross. It is very evident, 
therefore, that such crossing, which is simply zigzag 
crossing, cannot secure any stable or permanent re- 
sults. It is simply advancing and receding, achieving' 
and undoing. The individuals who follow it, and 
their name is legion, sail in a circle. Those thus 



IMPROVEMENT THROUGH GRADING. 331 

engaged carry on a never ending experiment without 
being able to make any substantial or permanent 
progress. 

Up-Grading and Mingled blood Elements in Fe- 
males. — When breeding grades the more mingled the 
blood elements in the females, the more marked will 
be the improvement in the progeny, since their poAver 
to resist change weakens with the increase of diversity 
in the blood elements. This conclusion is the logical 
outcome of the opposite idea, viz., that the longer the 
period that the animals have been bred pure the great- 
er power they have when mated to transmit their 
properties to the progeny, that is to say, their power 
to transmit these properties increases with the diver- 
sity of the blood elements in the females, and each 
such additional diverse blood element tends to weaken 
the power to resist change on the part of the females, 
since it tends further to disunite the resisting power 
to change in these blood elements, rather than to unite 
them. In other words, in the first instance, unity 
of action and consequently potency of action increases 
with increased purity of blood, and in the second in- 
stance separate and independent action, and conse- 
quently weakened action, increases with increasing 
diversity in the blood elements. Diversity in blood 
elements, therefore, may be a positive advantage in 
females when the effort to improve them through up- 
grading begins. Suppose that high grade Merino 
sheep in one instance are to be improved for the 
block through up-grading, and in another instance 
sheep with blood elements very diverse are to be 
similarly improved, the sires in both instances being 
chosen from the same pure breed, the object will be 
attained more quickly with the latter than with the 
former. 



332 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

The present condition, therefore, of the common 
stocks of the country render them susceptible of rapid 
improvement through grading. But the fact should 
not be overlooked, that up-grading will be more quick- 
ly accomplished when the females to be graded are 
already possessed of blood elements the same in kind 
as those from which the males are chosen, and it will 
be facilitated proportionately to the degree in which 
these are possessed by the said females. For instance, 
females of mixed blood with more or less of Shrop- 
shire blood elements, can be graded up more quick- 
ly through using Shropshire males than if such ele- 
ments were not present. 

Up-grading and a Lessened Ratio of Improve- 
ment. — When improvement is sought through up- 
grading, the more marked is the improvement rela- 
tively which is effected by the first cross, and the 
ratio of improvement lessens with each succeeding 
cross. This fact has been noticed by the most casual 
observers. The explanation is not difficult. To illus- 
trate : Suppose females much mixed in their blood 
elements are to be graded up through the use of pure 
Galloway sires of good individuality. When the work 
of improvement begins the difference in the blood ele- 
ments, that is,_in properties and characteristics may 
be fitly represented by 100, on the supposition that 
the females have in them no Galloway blood. Care- 
less observers would say that the progeny from the 
first mating would inherit properties from each parent 
that would be represented by 50. This, in reality, is 
not true. Each animal of the progeny would inherit 
more than 50 per cent, of the properties of the sire 
and less than 50 per cent, of the properties of the 
dam. The excess in the properties inherited from 



IMPROVEMENT THROUGH GRADING. 333 

the sire would be equal to the excess in the trans- 
mitting power of the male as compared with that of 
each female. In other words it would equal the pre- 
ponderance in the transmitting power in the male to 
effect change over that of each female to resist change. 
The power of the. male to transmit properties would 
be much greater than that of each female, because of 
his marked purity of breeding and high individual 
excellence. Let the number 75 represent the proper- 
ties inherited from the sire in each of the progeny, 
then 25 will represent the properties inherited from 
the dam. The progeny will therefore resemble the 
sire very much more closely than the dam. It could 
not be otherwise,, because of the "excess in properties 
inherited from the sire as compared with those in- 
herited from the dam. 

Now suppose that an equally prepotent pure 
Galloway sire is chosen for mating with the female 
progeny begotten by the first mating, the difference 
in properties between this sire and each female will 
be represented by 25, whereas at the beginning it was 
represented by 100. In other words, a gap or differ- 
ence in properties represented by 25 is to be bridged 
over. The change effected by the second sire there- 
fore cannot be so great relatively as that effected by 
the first, since the difference in blood elements, that 
is to say, in properties, is only one fourth of what it 
was at the beginning. The chance therefore for im- 
provement is proportionately narrowed. Let the 
number 15 represent the essentially Galloway prop- 
erties inherited from the sire in the second instance, 
then 10 will represent the resistant properties to 
assimilation inherited from the dam. The difference 
in properties between pure Galloways and the prog- 



334 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

eny of the second mating will therefore be represented 
by 10. The progeny in this instance will more close- 
ly resemble the Galloways than that from the first 
mating, but the increase in resemblance will be much 
less relatively than in the first instance. It could not 
be otherwise. It is very evident, therefore, that by 
the time the fourth or fifth Galloway sire had been 
thus used in up-grading, the difference in properties 
between the animals thus graded and the pure Gallo- 
ways would be imperceptible. They would be pos- 
sessed essentially of the characteristics of pure Gal- 
loways, but, of course, they could not be recorded as 
the rules for the registration of Galloways now stand. 

In this way common animals thus graded by 
using successively pure bred males from any breed, 
can speedily be graded up to the level of that breed in 
individuality, and they will probably excel it in aver- 
age vigor. This level, as has been shown, may be 
attained through a very limited number of crosses 
when the work is judiciously done. The number of 
these crosses will depend, first, upon the preponder- 
ance of prepotency in the sires; second, upon the 
judgment used in selecting and mating; and third, 
upon the management. 

Up-Grading and Retrogression. — The opinion 
has gained currency, that, while a first cross in grad- 
ing is likely to effect marked improvement, succeed- 
ing crosses are not so likely to effect further improve- 
ment, and in many instances they are not likely to 
maintain the standard of improvement obtained in 
the first cross. This opinion is doubtless based on 
observation, but such observation has led to erroneous 
conclusions as to the true cause of such retrogression 
as will be shown below. Where the work is properly 



IMPROVEMENT THROUGH GRADING. 335 

done, such results from up-grading would be im- 
possible, though they might easily arise from cross 
breeding under certain conditions as has been shown. 
(See Chapter XXV.) 

When Retrogression May Follow. — In the at- 
tempt to up-grade, even though pure bred sires are 
used, retrogression may follow in the second and suc- 
ceeding crosses. It may follow when the blood ele- 
ments have been strong on the side of the dam, as well 
as on the side of the sire. To illustrate : Suppose the 
attempt is made to change the American Merino 
whose blood is almost pure into the mutton type by 
crossing upon it some of the more recently established 
of what may be termed the composite mutton breeds, 
as the Hampshire Down. ' The powers of the Merino 
in that case may be stronger to resist change than 
those of the Hampshire Down to effect it. If so there 
will be a tendency to reversion in the second and 
probably in some of the succeeding crosses. Such an 
instance, however, is more nearly allied to cross breed- 
ing than to up-grading. It may also follow when the 
changes effected are not in keeping with the condi- 
tions of environment, and when the animals suffer 
from neglect. Such would be the result from the at- 
tempt to introduce a coarse-wooled mountain breed 
into a hot climate and to engraft upon the same the 
characteristics of a very fine wooled breed. If the 
progeny from pure sires were subjected to conditions 
less favorable than the breed from which the sires 
chosen were accustomed to, there may also be retro- 
gression. (See p. 319.) 

Up-Grading and Sustenance. — Grading with a 
view to increase the size and quality must be accom- 
panied with liberal sustenance, otherwise, such in- 



336 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

crease in size and also in fattening properties would 
be a source of weakness, owing to the disturbance 
that would arise in the equilibrium of the system. 
The increased impulse in both directions unsupported 
by the necessary food supplies, would lead to retro- 
gression. Because of this, many of the ranchmen 
of the American Western ranges have been forced to 
abandon such crosses. (See p. 320.) 

Excluding Grades from Record. — The wisdom 
of excluding all grades from the American stud, herd, 
and flock records which are intended to guard the 
interests of the pure breeds is, at least, questionable. 
Such exclusion is eminently wise when applied to 
animals with a limited number of crosses, owing to 
tendencies in them to atavic transmission, but, in 
continuous up-grading, a time comes when the ele- 
ments of the common blood originally possessed by 
the dams become so small a factor as to have no 
appreciable influence. Thus barring the door of ad- 
mittance to every form of grades, howsoever excellent 
in themselves, tends to discourage up-grading of the 
highest order. 

The only advantage that those who improve 
through grading can look for is increased market 
values consequent upon individual improvement, 
whereas, could they record such grades after a suf- 
ficient number of crosses additional value would be 
given to them as soon as admitted to. registry, that 
is, as soon as they were recognized as pure breds. 
The additional benefit would also follow that comes 
from the infusion of vigorous alien blood. Such 
blood is forever excluded by the rules of the American 
Live Stock Association Records as they now stand. 
The average individual excellence of Shorthorns in 



IMPROVEMENT THROUGH GRADING. 337 

Great Britain is at least equal to that of the average 
of the same in the United States, and yet at no time 
during the period of recording' Shorthorns in that 
country have more than five crosses from pure Short- 
horn sires been necessary to secure registration in the 
English Shorthorn herdbook. In a country where the 
common stocks are inferior, the number of pure bred 
crosses to admit to registry should be more than five, 
but that number could be fixed upon that would fur- 
nish a reasonablv sure guarantv of s'ood individuality 
in the animals admitted. The bars that guard the 
herd records may never again be thus lowered in this 
country, but, if such should prove to be the case, the 
price thus paid for the exclusion of alien blood with 
its renovating power will probably be a dear one. 



CHAPTEE XXVII. 

FORMING NEW BREEDS. 

Much difference of opinion prevails as to the 
wisdom of trying further to multiply breeds, or as to 
the necessity for such multiplication. Some intelli- 
gent breeders are of the opinion that too many breeds 
already exist, and that the needs of the country would 
be better served by utilizing to a greater extent the 
blood of the more important and popular of these, 
the others being allowed to drop out of existence. 
Such a view would seem to be extreme. It may be 
true that some breeds or sub-breeds do exist which 
so closely resemble one another in form and appear- 
ance, that there would seem to be no good reasons 
why they should not be blended to' form one breed, 
as was the case with the cattle of Norfolk and Suffolk 
when the Red Polls were evolved as one distinct 
breed. This is certainly true of some of the types of 
Delaine Merinos as now bred in this country, yet 
the fact remains, that the breeds which we now have 
exist because they have been found useful, and many 
of them exist because they have been found useful 
under conditions in which no other breed would have 
been found equally useful. 

Changed conditions create new necessities, so 
that it is by no means certain that the necessity for 
further evolution in breeds does not exist even in 
these United States. No breed has yet been evolved 
that has complete adaptation to much of the range 



FORMING NEW BREEDS. 339 

country and at the same time to the demands of the 
markets. Such adaptation will not be complete until 
the necessity for introducing' rams from abroad into 
that country will not exist. Here then is a field for 
the profitable evolution of more than one breed or 
type. Again, the practice of dehorning recently in- 
troduced is prompting experimenters to try to re- 
move the horns from some of the existing breeds of 
cattle. Some of these are doing so by the aid of alien 
blood, and if they succeed the result will be the pro- 
duction of a new breed. If a breed of hornless sheep 
were evolved with all the distinct characteristics of 
the Dorsets, except the horns, it is probable that they 
would supersede the latter. The time therefore has 
not yet arrived when this country would not be made 
richer by the forming of some new breeds of live 
stock. 

Considering the Necessity for New Breeds. — 
While there would seem to be room for some new 
breeds or sub-breeds in this country, the reasons for 
calling them into existence should be most carefully 
considered, before such a work is undertaken. The 
simple desire to introduce something different would 
not be a sufficient reason for evolving a new breed. 
It should not be attempted before the necessity is felt 
for a breed which will more completely meet the needs 
of certain conditions than any breed now in the 
country. The process is tedious and will of necessity 
involve more or less outlay. Unless the breed so 
produced is distinctly superior in some respects, and 
for some important uses to those now existing, nothing 
will have been gained. 

Few Men Competent to Evolve New Breeds. — 
The men who are fully equipped for such a work are 



340 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

rare. More rare are they than legislators in the high- 
est legislative body in the nation. To carry such a 
work to a successful completion, requires the exercise 
of a rare combination of talents. It calls for great 
judgment in selecting the foundation materials and 
in the elimination of animals with undesirable va- 
riations . It requires a correct and far-reaching knowl- 
edge of the principles that govern breeding. And 
it calls for the exercise of perseverance without any 
limit. That but few persons possess these requisites 
in a marked degree is evident from the small number 
relatively of those who have made a success of evolv- 
ing a new breed in proportion to the number of those 
who have failed. Of the many who have engaged in 
such a work, but few have so far perfected the same 
as to render it abiding. 

The Time Required in Breed Formation. — The 
formation of a breed usually requires not less than 
the work of an ordinary lifetime. In some instances 
successive lives have been expended in establishing 
and improving a breed, before it attained any marked 
prominence. And the same is true of the establish- 
ment of a type within a breed. But the length of 
time required will depend largely on the materials 
used and the method pursued. The greater the diver- 
sity of the foundation materials used and the less 
close the breeding from these, the longer will be the 
period which the work will cover. Affinity and an- 
tagonism in blood elements in different breeds has al- 
ready been referred to. (See p. 323.) This should 
be well understood regarding the materials chosen 
for the evolution of breeds. 

Forming Breeds Through the Influence of Natu- 
ral Conditions. — Distinct breeds may originate large- 



FORMING NEW BREEDS. 341 

ly through the influence of the conditions to which 
they have been subjected in the locality which came to 
be the abiding home of the breed. The influence of 
these natural conditions was of course further ac- 
centuated by selection. The more or less divergent 
foundation stocks come at length to assume distinc- 
tiveness of type which becomes permanent. Such 
has been the origin doubtless of several of the breeds 
of cattle and also other classes of domestic animals 
found in Great Britain. The type which they assum- 
ed would be greatly influenced by environment. (See 
Chapter XXVI II.) The gap between the cattle of 
the Shetland Islands and those of Galloway is now 
very great, and yet it is possible that both came from 
the same aboriginal race. Selection alone could be 
made to modify form, color and other characteristics, 
more especially as the supplies of food increased. 
Crossing may also have exerted an influence, owing 
to the frequency of raiding in the early centuries of 
the modern era. Through these influences the mixed 
stocks of the range if undisturbed by crossing would 
in time assume fixed characters in harmony with the 
environment on that particular part of the range. 
Such doubtless would not be the very best way of 
forming new breeds in the range country, but it 
would be one way of accomplishing such an end. 

Forming Breeds Through Crossing Followed by 
Selection. — In some instances breeds have been form- 
ed by indiscriminate and promiscuous crossing for 
a time, followed by a period of careful selection. 
Such was the origin of that excellent breed of swine, 
the Poland China. The promiscuous crossing gave 
a plasticity to the system which the later molders of 
the breed turned to good account in giving to it uni- 



342 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

formity of type and high excellence of form. Such 
a system of breed forming is of necessity slow. The 
evolution of the breed covered more than three quar- 
ters of a century when it might have been as fully 
completed in less than half the time through crossing 
with more of definiteness of purpose. The story of 
the evolution of some of the breeds of swine in Britain 
is very similar. The first crosses made are frequently 
tentative. The results, if satisfactory, encourage oth- 
ers to do likewise. Thus it is that breed modification 
may extend to the breeders over a large area before 
the effort is made to secure definiteness in breed 
characteristics. 

Forming Breeds Through Selection and In-and- 
in Breeding. — In other instances improvement has 
been made by a rigid selection within a type or breed, 
aided by in-and-in breeding. The improvement thus 
secured has been carried still further by accompany- 
ing it with improved methods of feeding and care. 
In evolution of this character, not many foundation 
animals were chosen at first, but they were possessed 
of the desired characteristics in a high degree. Such 
has been the origin of some of the best breeds that 
now exist, notably the Leicester breed of sheep, the 
blood of which has been so freely used in improving 
other breeds and also in forming some of these. The 
foundation animals being the outcome of variation 
that reaches around rather than backward would 
necessarily be few. The in-and-in breeding of these 
and their descendants for a time speedily fixed those 
variations. The rigid selection that usually has ac- 
companied such breeding tended still further to secure 
uniformity, and the liberal food supplies carried the 
desired variation to a higher level. 



FORMING NEW BREEDS. 343 

No system of breed evolution is so rapid, since 
the tendency to variation is less markedly present 
than when alien blood has been used in making the 
foundation crosses. Strictly speaking such a system 
is more one of breed improvement than of breed for- 
mation. Because of this, it has been oftener resorted 
to in evolving types than in forming breeds. Since 
Bakewell's time all the noted improvers of breeds 
have followed this plan. The Colling Bros., the 
elder Booth, Thomas Bates, and Benjamin Tomp- 
kins are prominent in the list of such improvers. 

Forming Breeds to Render Permanent Some 
Feature of Variation. — Some breeds have been es- 
tablished to render permanent a distinct feature of 
variation that has been considered valuable. Such, 
doubtless, were the facts all known, was the origin 
of the polled races of cattle, as there are good reasons 
for believing that their progenitors at one time were 
all horned. The distinctive feature in these instances 
was the absence of horns. Foundation animals that 
were hornless were doubtless secured at first by spon- 
taneous variation. Careful breeding and selection 
did the rest. In other instances the desired feature 
belonged to animals of alien blood, and the character- 
istics of a superior breed have been engrafted upon 
it. The original branch of Polled Durham cattle 
furnishes an illustration of breed forming by this 
method, and the more recently formed branch of the 
breed further referred to below furnishes an illustra- 
tion of the same by the other method previously re- 
ferred to. 

When the attempts were first made to breed 
Polled Durhams, pure Shorthorn sires were crossed 
upon muley cows which more or less resembled Short- 



344 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

horns in their essential characteristics. Only the 
hornless progeny and such as were possessed of form 
and characteristics essentially Shorthorn were retain- 
ed for breeding. These were mated and the selecting 
and eliminating process continued until hornlessness 
and other desirable qualities were fixed. As more 
than one breeder was pursuing the same line of ex- 
perimentation the necessity for in-and-in breeding 
of the closest kind was not so necessary since it was 
possible for the various breeders who engaged almost 
simultaneously in the work to secure males to head 
their herds that were unrelated and also hornless. 
The other branch of the Polled Durham tree came 
from absolutely pure Shorthorn ancestry, the founda- 
tion animals being the unlooked for outcome of spon- 
taneous variation. The method of engrafting the 
characters of a superior breed upon foundation blood 
more or less alien brings along with it a vigor that 
is distinctly advantageous, but it requires a longer 
time to secure uniformity in type than is called for by 
the other system. 

Forming Breeds Through Males from Another 
Breed. — In yet other instances breeds have been 
formed by using, for a time more or less limited, males 
from another breed with certain desirable character- 
istics not possessed by the females of the foundation 
stocks. In this way these characteristics would be 
secured in the progeny, and this method of breeding 
would be continued until they had become so fixed 
that its further continuance would be no longer neces- 
sary; sires would then be chosen from within the 
new breed. But in some instances it has been found 
necessary again to resort to an occasional outcross of 
sires from the breed which furnished the sires at the 



FORMING NEW BREEDS. 345 

first. The Cotswold breed of sheep as they now are, 
were thus evolved, sires having been chosen from the 
Leicester breed. The Hampshire Downs were also 
produced in this way by the use of Southdown sires, 
with the difference that now and then through the 
evolution period ewes were occasionally chosen from 
the native foundation stocks. 

Leading Principles in Forming Neiv Breeds. — 
From what has been said above, it will be very evi- 
dent that in forming new breeds careful attention 
must be given : 1. To a most rigid and careful selec- 
tion of the foundation animals chosen and also of the 
progeny of these. 2. To in-and-in breeding in a great- 
er or lesser degree, whenever the work is to be ac- 
complished within a reasonably limited period. And 
3. To some out-crossing at certain stages of the work. 
The degree to which these principles should be ap- 
plied will vary with the nature of the work to be 
clone. They will be further enlarged upon below. 

• Selecting Foundation Animals. — In forming 
breeds, selection has reference mainly to the choice of 
foundation animals possessed of the characteristics 
sought in a marked degree and most of all in the 
choice of males. The choice of these therefore will 
be very limited and to secure them may involve much 
labor. The necessity for the utmost care in selecting 
such sires will be apparent because of the first great 
law of breeding. (See Chapter III.) It has also a 
regard to the continued elimination of all but the 
most desirable specimens as to form and quality. Un- 
desirable specimens will appear in proportion as pre- 
potency is wanting in the males, and also in propor- 
tion as it is present in the females possessed of un- 
desirable variations. (See Chapter IX.) Umfica- 



346 • ANIMAL BREEDING. 

tion and stability in properties will be secured in 
proportion as the elimination of animals with unde- 
sirable variations is rigid and severe, and it is greatly 
necessary that it shall be rigid and severe in the choice 
of males from within the new breed. Judicious selec- 
tion will at once discard all sires deficient in pre- 
potency of the kind sought, as soon as such deficiency 
has been discovered, howsoever excellent the said 
males may be in other respects. When crosses have 
been introduced selection must be specially rigid, ow- 
ing to the great tendency in cross breds to atavic 
transmission. (See p. 317.) The influence which 
the character of the selection has in accelerating or re- 
tarding the work of breed formation is thus very 
apparent. 

Artificial Characters and Selection. — The char- 
acters secured through selection may be fitly termed 
artificial characters, since they are created. They can 
only be secured in the greatest perfection by the most 
persistent effort in the systematic accumulation of 
slight variations in the desired direction. Such va- 
riations, as a rule, are only slight, hence the importance 
of carefully using them as stepping stones toward 
further variation in the same direction. They can 
only be retained or further developed by breeding 
from those animals in which they are most apparent, 
and they can only be engrafted upon animals of no 
particular breeding by persevering in the same meth- 
od of carrying on the work for a longer or a shorter 
period. 

Forming Breeds and In-and-in Breeding. — In- 
and-in breeding has been resorted to more or less in 
the formation and establishment of all the newer 
breeds, and for the purpose of securing and unifying, 



FORMING NEW BREEDS. 347 

the more speedily, uniformity and prepotency of the 
kind sought. But it has been practiced in degrees 
which vary much, by the molders of these breeds. 
With some of them the motto was to breed for a time 
from animals of the closest affinities and possessed of 
the requisite qualities, while that of others was to 
breed from the best, regardless of relationships. Bake- 
well's practice furnishes an example of the first and 
that of Hugh Watson, of Keillor, an example of the 
second. The latter course is probably the less dan- 
gerous, although much slower than the former. The 
respective merits of the two systems will be influenced 
by the degree of the inherent vigor possessed by the 
foundation animals and also by the degree to which 
alien blood is present or absent. The greater the 
vigor of the foundation stocks, the closer the degree of 
the in-and-in breeding that may be practiced, and the 
longer the period during which it may be so practiced 
without injury to the animals. And the more diverse 
and numerous, as a rule, the alien blood elements in 
the foundation stocks, the closer also may be the in- 
and-in breeding, because of the renovating power 
which the commingling of alien blood elements usual- 
ly brings along with it. The time when breeding thus 
closely should be discontinued and the degree of such 
discontinuance call for the exercise of much discrim- 
ination on the part of the breeder. 

Artificial Variations May Become Latent. — If 
the hereditary transmission of desirable variations 
were not intensified by in-and-in breeding, they would 
to a greater or lesser extent become latent, owing to 
the preponderance in the more stable characters of the 
original type. The more concentrated the dominant 
blood elements in the foundation animals the more 



348 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

likely are these to revert to the original type when 
breeds are being formed. This constitutes one real 
difficulty in forming breeds when the effort is made 
to engraft new characters on animals possessed es- 
sentially of the blood elements of some ancient breed. 
And the more highly artificial the variation, the more 
likely is it to be obscured. In other words, the more 
that the variation is unlike the characters possessed by 
the original materials from which the breed is 
evolved, the more likely is such a result to follow. 
Without close breeding such characters might be in- 
herited, but if so, it would only be inheritance more 
accidental than stable. True, persistent selection 
would eventually enable the molders to reach the 
goal, but not nearly so quickly. In breed formation 
as in other things, why would it not be much wiser 
to reach a given point by traversing one side of a 
triangle rather than by traversing the two sides of 
the same ? 

Breed Forming and Out-Crossing. — In forming 
breeds out-crossing is usually effected by the intro- 
duction of males possessed of the desired qualities, 
and chosen from unrelated or not closely related 
families within the breed. In forming new breeds 
such out-crossing may not be possible, owing to the 
smallness of the number of the foundation animals. 
In such instances, if an outcross is introduced it 
would have to be from unrelated blood brought in 
from some one of the breeds or strains from which 
the foundation animals were drawn. To make it from 
a breed wholly alien would probably make too violent 
an outcross. And it should be drawn from that breed 
or strain which will furnish it in that form best cal- 
culated to effect the purpose sought. The chief ob- 



FORMING NEW BREEDS. 349 

ject of such an outcross is to impart additional stam- 
ina to the breed, as soon as any indications of the 
necessity for so doing are apparent. The time at 
which the outcross or outcrosses must be introduced 
will depend, to some extent, on the close and prolonged 
character of the in-and-in breeding. The outcross 
should be introduced in a tentative and cautious way, 
as increased stamina accompanied by retrogression in 
desirable form would be purchased at too high a 
price. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

THE INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENT. 

The environment, that is to say the surround- 
ings of animals, is all powerful in the influence which 
it exercises upon their development. This alone may 
swell out enormously the proportions to which the 
animals develop, or it may even dwarf them into 
pigmies though of the same breed. The influence of 
environment is all too little considered by the many 
when sitting in judgment on the choice of a breed. 
It is one thing that a breed shall suit the personal 
preferences of the individual, and quite another thing 
that it shall suit the conditions of environment. 

Environment Defined. — Environment, as inti- 
mated above, has reference to the influences which the 
surroundings have upon live stock. These influences 
include climate, pastures, and food supplies for 
winter and summer. Strictly speaking they also in- 
clude every feature of management even in its mi- 
nutest details. There is virtually no limit to the ex- 
tent to which these may be made to modify the type 
of the animal and to qualify its powers of usefulness. 
These various influences except that last mentioned 
will be further discussed. To enlarge upon the in- 
fluence of the various features of management would 
not be opportune in a work of this nature. 

The Influence of Climate. — Climate affects : 1, 
the constitution of animals. 2, the character of the 
coat and 3, through these their general usefulness. 



THE INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENT. 351 

Of course it affects these in varying degrees, accord- 
ing as it is rigorous, temperate or hot. The degree 
of the humidity or the want of tiiis also exerts a 
qualifying influence. These various features of the 
influence of climate will be further enlarged upon. 

Influence of Climate on the Constitution. — The 
influence of climate upon the constitution of animals 
is very decided. The extent of this influence is of 
course greatly modified by the degree of the exposure. 
They are hardy, first, in proportion to the rigors of the 
climate, and, second, to the degree to which they are 
exposed to it. The hardiest breeds of domestic ani- 
mals therefore are found on the northern and south- 
ern extremes of the north and south temperate zones 
respectively, that is to say, when they are not artifi- 
cially protected during much of the year. It would 
also be correct to say, that but for the un artificial 
conditions under which animals are reared in the tor- 
rid zone, they would there be the least hardy. But 
animals may be raised in a cold climate and, not- 
withstanding, be lacking in hardihood, owing to the 
extremely artificial conditions under which they are 
reared. This explains why cattle reared in cold 
latitudes fall an easy prey to tuberculous diseases 
when unduly confined to stables too warm and \\\\- 
^entilated. But while hardihood is a valuable qual- 
ity, the fact should not be overlooked that it is only 
of practical value when it is linked with productivity. 

An animal may be possessed of hardihood in a 
marked degree and yet such hardihood may not be 
accompanied by an abundant flesh production, nor 
may the flesli when produced be of a sufficiently high 
character to make it desirable. Tt may also be de- 
ficient as a milk producer. Likewise the character of 



352 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

the coat may not rank high as in the case of some of 
the hardy breeds of goats and sheep. Constitution, 
therefore, of which hardihood is the core is a question 
of degree. The razorback swine of the south are 
infinitely hardier than the delicate over refined swine 
not unfrequently found in the corn belt- Likewise 
they are hardier than the swine of the northern states 
fed on a balanced ration, and yet the latter are more 
desirable and more valuable than either. That degree 
of constitution, therefore, that is consonant with the 
highest productivity in the broad sense of the term 
is sufficient, and it will vary with the object for 
which the animals are kept. More hardihood is 
wanted in the cattle kept under semi-range conditions 
than on the arable farm, and in those kept on the open 
range than in those kept under semi-range conditions. 
Accommodating Breeds to Climatic Conditions. 
— All breeds of domestic animals have some power to 
accommodate themselves to changed climatic condi- 
tions, but some breeds have this power in a much 
greater degree than others. So it is with plants. 
Experience has shown that one variety of wheat, for 
instance, will have greater power, at least for a term of 
years, than any other variety to accommodate itself to 
the various conditions of soil and climate found in 
any one state or even in a group of states that may be 
contiguous. The reasons for this greater power of 
accommodation in plants or in animals cannot all be 
given now, and possibly they never can be so given. 
It would seem reasonable to say that this greater 
power of accommodation in some breeds may arise, 
in part at least, from a greater plasticity in materials 
of the entire organism. This at least in some in- 
stances would seem to arise from the influence of com- 



THE INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENT. 353 

posite blood in the ancestry not too remote. This may 
account in part for the high adaptation of Shropshire 
sheep to changed conditions. 

Greater resistance to violent climatic changes 
may, therefore, be looked for on the part of old es- 
tablished breeds that have long been habituated to cer- 
tain characteristics of climate than on the part of 
breeds more recently formed. The fact is significant 
in this connection, that the Anglo-Saxon race so com- 
posite in blood elements in the ancestry,. have been the 
greatest colonizers in the world. But size is also an 
important factor in acclimatizing power. As a rule 
the medium and even the smaller breeds may be suc- 
cessfully distributed over wider areas than the larger, 
and this again is influenced by production. 

The Influence of Climate on the Coat. — Climate 
materially affects the character of the coat. This 
has already been discussed to some extent. (See 
Chapter XIX.) It was there shown that a cold cli- 
mate thickened the coatof animals, and tended to make 
it finer, that a hot climate tended to make it open and 
coarse, that a dry climate tended to make it short, and 
that a moist climate tended to make it long. It was 
also shoAvn that these influences were modified by 
other conditions, as heredity, food, digestion, sun- 
shine and protection. It may be added that the influ- 
ences thus exerted are probably relatively greater in 
degree with those classes of live stock that are heavi- 
ly covered, as sheep. It is only natural that it should 
be so, since the longer the covering and the more 
dense, the greater relatively is the bulk and super- 
ficies to be affected. 

The Influence of Climate Upon Utility. — 
Through the influence of climate upon the constitu- 



354 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

tion and coat of animals their utility is materially 
affected. A change from a climate extreme in heat 
or cold to one temperate is usually favorable to higher 
development. For instance, if an animal is taken 
from a very cold climate to one temperate, while 
hardihood in the sense of ability to endure may be 
lessened, yet, under proper care it will not be lessened 
so as to interfere with utility. Utility is almost cer- 
tain to be increased since less of the food is wasted 
in the fight with rigors of climate. The coat may 
be made less dense, but there will probably be more 
than compensation in the increased length of the 
same. This when the coat is manufactured means 
added value. On the other hand a change from a 
hot climate to one temperate strengthens the constitu- 
tion, and thickens and lengthens the coat. It holds 
good therefore that a change from a climate extreme 
in heat or cold to one temperate is usually favorable 
to higher development, while a change from a temper- 
ate climate to one of extremes is usually unfavorable 
to development. But in sitting in judgment on this 
question, the effect of other influences should not be 
overlooked. 

Influence of the Pastures. — The character of 
the pastures influences: 1. The size of the animals. 
2. The relative development ' of certain parts of the 
body. 3. The quality of the flesh and fleece, and, 4, 
The health of the animals. These influences will be 
further considered separately. 

The Influence of Pastures on Size. — The influ- 
ence of the pastures upon the size of animals is all-im- 
portant. In its relation to adaptation in breeds this 
influence should never be overlooked. As a rule, the 
more sparse the pastures, the smaller the breed which 



THE INFLUENCE OF ENYIEONMENT. 355 

they will maintain. This arises, first, from the less 
quantity of food required to maintain a small animal ; 
second, from the less effort required by the same to 
carry about its less ponderous body in search of food ; 
and third, from the greater ease with which in con- 
sequence it travels over the relatively large area to 
gather the food of each meal. In consequence small 
breeds can oftentimes maintain themselves in the 
pink of condition when large breeds of the same 
species would go on short supplies and would con- 
sequently fare badly. When heavy breeds are put up- 
on sparse pastures they deteriorate not only in size 
but also in useful qualities. 

In the future "battle of the breeds," this fact 
will always enable the small breeds to win out under 
such conditions. These, therefore, will never be sup- 
planted by those larger in their own proper domain, 
and failure Avill never cease to be written on the work 
of. those who attempt to supplant them with breeds 
too large, unless increased productivity in the pas- 
tures accompanies increased size in the animals. The 
reverse is also true. Rich pastures and especially 
those level in character tend to make small breeds 
larger when grazed upon them, hence it is usually 
considered more profitable to stock such pastures with 
breeds that are already large. But while large breeds 
cannot be maintained on sparse pastures without 
supplementary food, it does not follow that a small 
breed will not prove profitable on rich pastures. 
Southdown sheep may prove highly profitable on the 
best of pastures. Again, pastures intermediate in 
character are best adapted to sustain animals inter- 
mediate in size and this fact should be duly regarded 
when choosing breeds to put upon these. But climate 



356 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

exercises a powerful influence upon size, as well as 
pastures. 

As a rule the extremes of heat and cold affect 
size adversely. The latter is more antagonistic to 
size than the former, especially when linked with ir- 
regular and insufficient food supplies. Because of 
this, the smallest specimens of any breed are found in 
the distant north. The largest and most perfect of 
these are found in temperate regions. Hence it is, 
that the largest breeds of cattle, sheep and swine have 
not usually been found so well adapted to the con- 
ditions of the southern states as to those further north. 
.But to this there may be some exceptions. The larger 
breeds suffer more relatively from the summer heat 
when carrying around their heavier bodies while get- 
ting food through grazing. 

Pastures and Special Development. — The char- 
acter of the pastures exercises no small measure of 
influence on what may be termed special develop- 
ment, that is, development of certain parts of the 
body. When the pastures are rugged there is an 
increase of development in the fore parts of the body. 
The muscles of the forearm and certain other parts of 
the front quarter being much used in climbing are 
made strong. There is also decrease more or less in 
the development of the hind parts of the same, not- 
withstanding that the muscles of the thighs remain 
large. But too much should not be made of such de- 
crease since> so much depends upon the degree of the 
climbing. 

The relations also between the relative propor- 
tions of bone and flesh are more or less altered by the 
character of the pastures. Those deficient in lime 
cannot maintain a sufficiency of bone, hence, breeds 



TflE INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENT. 357 

reared upon them are certain to deteriorate in size 
and in other useful qualities, notwithstanding that 
the grasses may be abundant. Such are some of the 
pastures of the upland regions of some of the south- 
eastern states. Kentucky has long been famed not 
only for the abundance of its blue grass pastures 
springing out of a soil rich in lime, but also for the 
robust development in form and limb of the animals 
which feed on these. The pastures of the downs in 
the south of England, which are short and sweet and 
greatly nutritious, produce an abundance of flesh but 
without any excess in bone. 

The Influence of Pastures on Flesh and Fleece. 
— The finer the pastures the finer the grain of the 
flesh produced. Pastures coarse in character produce 
flesh coarse in fiber though it may be abundant. What 
are known as chalk soils are proverbial for the fine 
quality of the flesh which they produce. The greater 
the variety of the pastures and the more numerous 
the aromatic plants which they contain, the more 
highly flavored is the meat. In this fact is found 
one explanation of the high character of the meat of 
the mountain breeds of sheep and also of the cattle 
that feed upon the slopes of the mountains. The same 
is true of meat grown on certain of the western ranges; 
These pastures, however, are usually less succulent 
than those of the mountains and the meat in conse- 
quence is less juicy. 

The richer and the more succulent the pastures, 
the more superior the quality of the wool which they 
produce in sheep. Such pastures stimulate the cir- 
culation concerned in the nourishment of the wool and 
also the action of the glands which lubricate it. As 
a result the fiber of the wool is strengthened, its 



358 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

length is increased, its luster is improved, the yolk 
in it is ample. Its appearance externally and espe- 
cially when the fleece is opened is healthy and at- 
tractive. The fact is also significant that usually a 
short staple of wool and denseness in the same are 
oftenest found on pastures short and fine, and more 
length of staple and less density upon pastures more 
rank and coarse. But caution should be exercised in 
weighing these questions, lest too much stress shall be 
laid upon the influence of pastures on the wool rather 
than on that of breeds and breeding. 

Pastures and Health in the Animals. — Good 
health in domestic animals as in the human family 
is affected by their surroundings. Low pastures 
affect adversely the health of nearly all the breeds of 
sheep, even though these should be drained. They 
do so for the reason, first, that in them parasites so 
fatal relatively to sheep are much prone to breed in 
low lands, and second, that it is more in consonance 
with the nature of sheep to graze upon undulating 
slopes and uplands. Some large breeds of sheep, 
however, as the Lincoln and Romney Marsh breeds 
are reared on just such low lands, but these are con- 
tiguous to the sea and, because of the saline nature 
of the rains resulting from proximity to the sea, para- 
sites do not abound in these pastures. Pastures wet 
and undrained affect adversely the health of nearly all 
classes of domestic animals but not equally. They 
injure sheep more than other animals, and swine less. 
In fact sheep cannot prosper when confined to such 
pastures even though located near the sea. But it 
would scarcely be correct to say the same of swine, 
since they love to wallow in moist and wet places in 
hot weather. But even swine will thrive better on 



THE INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENT. 359 

drained pastures if they can at the same time have 
access to such waters. Stagnant waters, especially 
during the season of hot weather, are injurious to ani- 
mals as they usually become a refuge for parasites 
of various kinds and in time they become more or 
less befouled by droppings from the animals which 
drink from them. 

The Influence of Food Supplies in Winter. — 
An abundance or scarcity of food supplies in winter, 
the character of the same as to variety, the relative 
coarseness and fineness of the fodders, and the degree 
of the aroma, influence development similarly to the 
presence or absence of these in the pastures. Abun- 
dance in winter foods tends, of course, to promote de- 
velopment. Scarcity in the same retards it. Variety 
is appetizing and because of the influence which it 
exercises on increased consumption is favorable to 
growth. Variety also generally tends to produce a 
more perfect balance in the ration. Coarseness in 
the fodder tends to produce coarseness of fiber in the 
flesh. Fineness in the same exerts an opposite influ- 
ence. Aroma in the fodder by making it more ap- 
petizing increases consumption of the same and in 
this way promotes development. It also exerts a 
favorable influence on the flavor of the flesh which it 
produces. Succulence in the winter food and also 
nutrition up to a certain degree influence favorably 
development, fecundity and productivity generally. 
(See Chapter XVII.) The flavor of the milk pro- 
duced is also much influenced by the food fed. Cer- 
tain foods, as turnips and rutabagas, tend to produce 
odors more or less offensive in the milk. The same 
is also true of certain pastures in summer, as rape or 
rye. Such taint however may usually be prevented 



360 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

by allowing the animals to partake of such foods only 
within a limited period after each milking. 

The Influence of Shelter in Winter. — Suitable 
shelter in winter intensifies all the influences of 
suitable winter feeding that have been mentioned 
above. It is sufficient when the animals, according 
to their kind, are kept in comfort. The degree of the 
shelter necessary varies much with various classes 
of animals. Sheep and horses not at work require 
less shelter relatively than cattle and swine, since 
the former are much protected by the fleece and the 
latter tend to neutralize the influences of cold by the 
abundant exercise which they take. Swine require 
shelter greater in degree than horses, cattle or sheep, 
since nature has furnished them with a less dense 
covering than is possessed by the animals just named. 
Humidity or dryness in the climate also exercises an 
important influence on the degree of shelter neces- 
sary. 

A moist climate with much rainfall in winter 
calls for more protection relatively than a dry climate 
with lower temperatures, and more of winter sun- 
shine. Exposure to cold rains or sleet storms is 
specially harmful to all kinds of domestic animals. 
When unduly exposed to these their development will 
be correspondingly hindered and also the profit from 
keeping them, Winter shelter is excessive when it so 
impairs vigor and hardihood as to hinder future de- 
velopment, and when it interferes with profitable re- 
turns. Sheep especially are susceptible to injury 
from too close confinement in winter. The stamina 
of many excellent dairy herds has also been injured 
in the same way. Good health in animals is no sooner 
injured by such treatment than profits diminish. m 



THE INFLUENCE OE ENVIRONMENT. 361 

The In /I tie nee of Shelter in Summer. — Shelter 
in summer furthers development and productivity 
and chiefly for the reason that it keeps the animals 
so sheltered from discomfort and worry. It is suf- 
ficient when the animals according to their kind are 
kept in comfort. The chief influences to be guarded 
against are first, annoyance from flies, and second, 
undue exposure to sunshine. The unrest caused by 
flies is sometimes very great, so great that growing 
animals otherwise well cared for, make but little prog- 
ress during the fly season, unless protected from flies. 
The bite or sting of the fly causes the unrest. 

Two modes of protection have been adopted. By 
the first, some substance usually liquid, offensive be- 
cause of its odor, and in some instances more or less 
destructive to the flies is applied, as by spraying or 
sponging\ By the second, the animals are kept in 
sheds or stables sufficiently ventilated and the win- 
dows of which are darkened. The second method is 
the most effective. Flies shun the darkness. But it is 
only applicable to studs, herds and flocks, limited in 
numbers. The weak points about external applica- 
tions are, first, their cost, and second, the short dura- 
tion of the period during which they protect without 
renewal. The person who will introduce an external 
application, cheap and easily prepared, that will be 
greatly destructive to flies and not injurious to the 
live stock and that will not call for renewal oftener 
than once or twice a week, is sure of an earthly im- 
mortality. 

The method most commonly adopted in protect- 
ing from excessive sunshine is to give the animals 
access to the shade of groves or trees growing singly 
or in clumps. Because of this, pastures amply fur- 



362 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

nished with such shade and also supplied with run- 
ning streams are greatly desired by the keepers of 
stock. But while shade from trees is good that from 
darkened sheds is better and especially when of the 
basement character, since basement stables are cooler, 
and they also protect from flies. 

Environment and Adaptation. — From what has 
been said it will be clearly evident that environment 
exercises a marked influence on adaptation. The 
degree therefore of the success in planting any breed 
in a certain locality will depend very largely on en- 
vironment in relation to the natural adaptation of the 
breed. With environment ill adapted to the needs of 
the breed, it can scarcely be made profitable. And just 
here it may be added that, in placing breeds, it has 
been found that more satisfactory results have been 
obtained where they have been planted in localities 
with a producing power rather beyond than short of 
the requirements of the same. In other words, ani- 
mals more readily accommodate themselves to condi- 
tions in advance of their exact needs than to those that 
fall short of the same, and on the broad principle, per- 
haps, that accommodation in the line of expansion is 
usually more easy than accommodation in the line of 
contraction. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 



CASTRATION AND SPAYING. 



Castration and spaying, that is to say, remov- 
ing the testicles in the one case and the ovaries in 
the other, have long been practiced. It cannot now 
be known when or how these practices first came to 
be introduced, since both have been practiced for a 
period so long that the dim and distant past will never 
disclose the period when they were first introduced. 
From the very nature of the operation and the re- 
sults flowing therefrom, it is probable that castration 
was practiced at an earlier period than spaying. It 
would be discovered sooner because more easily dis- 
covered, and the necessity for it would be more ap- 
parent because of the less need for as many males as 
females to sustain reproduction. 

Castration Defined. — By castration is meant the 
artificial removal of the testicles in males. Among 
the objects sought by such removal the following are 
prominent: 1. To render them incapable of repro- 
duction so that careful selection for breeding pur- 
poses may be easily possible. And 2. To secure more 
profitable returns when growing them for meat. In 
nature selection in the males is made on the ground 
of physical strength. It is simply an illustration of 
the survival of the fittest. But when man selects 
he improves upon nature by giving careful attention 
to other features of form in addition to those which 
constitute strength, and he is enabled to do so by 



364 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

rendering undesirable males incapable of begetting, 
by castrating them. The argument has been brought 
against castration, that since nature produces about 
an equal number of males and females, it was intend- 
ed that they should be mated accordingly, but the 
answer is also found in the domain of nature, since, 
when animals are not under the guidance of man, 
generation comes through only a limited number of 
males, and as has been pointed out, because of their 
physical strength. The reason why returns are more 
profitable from castrated than from uncastratecl ani- 
mals as viewed from the standpoint of meat and labor 
are considered below. 

The Principal Benefits From Castration. — The 
following are chief among the beneficial influences 
that follow castration: 1. It promotes absolute devel- 
opment. 2. It hinders undue development of the parts 
less valuable as food. 3. It tends to cause the energies 
of the system to concentrate in a much greater degree 
upon the 'development of those parts of the body suit- 
able for food. 4. It cheapens the cost of producing 
meat. 5. It prevents the production of meat possess- 
ed of an offensive taint. 6. It usually corrects all 
tendencies to viciousness. And 7. It promotes the 
ease with which the animals may be managed. These 
respective benefits will be further considered. 

Castration and Absolute Development. — Castra- 
tion promotes absolute development by arresting that 
division of the energies of the system necessary to the 
development of the generative organs. The organs of 
veneration and the generative function are as much a 
matter of growth as any other part of the system. If 
left undisturbed, therefore, they draw upon the ener- 
gies of the svstem for sustenance, When the testicles 



CASTRATION AND SPAYING. 365 

are removed, and usually they arc at an early age, 
such drafts cease. The sustenance, therefore, which 
would otherwise he required for such develop- 
ment is left free to assist in developing' the system 
as a whole. The relative amount of nutrition called 
for in developing and sustaining the generative func- 
tions is a factor that cannot be determined with preci- 
sion, but it is thought to be considerable. Practical 
stockmen claim that castrated animals require con- 
siderably more feed to develop them than those un- 
castrated. How much more food is thus required does 
not appear to have been made a matter of experimen- 
tation. They also claim that the difference is greater 
relatively after that period is reached when the gener- 
ative functions become sufficiently developed to beget 
or to conceive. Castration also aids in securing that 
quietness of disposition in consonance with the high- 
est possible development. After reproduction be- 
comes possible the animals become less restful ; espe- 
cially is this true when the females are in heat. The 
highest possible development, therefore, is hindered 
in proportion as such restlessness exists. A quicker 
maturity is therefore possible in the castrated animals 
and in all probability a greater absolute weight. 

Castration and Arrested Development. — Castra- 
tion hinders undue development of certain of the 
parts less valuable as food. In the uncastrated ani- 
mal there is relatively large development of the head ; 
of bone throughout the system, including horn ; of 
neck, hide and hair, and of some other parts of little 
or no value as food. The meat value of the head is 
trifling. Bone is in a sense offal and therefore dis- 
counts the value of the dressed carcass in proportion 
as it is excessive. The relative market value of the 



366 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

neck and breast, always abundantly developed in un- 
castrated animals, is low compared with that of cer- 
tain other parts of the carcass. The discrimination, 
therefore, in the meat markets against uncastrated 
animals which have passed a certain age is not fanci- 
ful, but is grounded on the best of reasons. The ex- 
tent of such discrimination against the carcass of un- 
castrated lambs from nine to twelve months old in the 
New York markets during recent years has run from 
10 to 20 per cent, of the value of the entire carcass. 
The older the animals become the greater is the dis- 
crimination against uncastrated males in all markets. 
In the case of aged boars it is in some instances con- 
siderably more than 50 per cent. No sooner has 
castration been effected than undue development of 
the parts named ceases entirely or is arrested in a 
marked degree. 

Castration and Useful Development. — Castra- 
tion not only favors increase in absolute development, 
and hinders undue increase in the development of the 
parts that are less valuable, but it also promotes rela- 
tive development in parts that are most valuable. It 
does so by enabling the energies of the system to act 
more in concert in promoting useful development. 
Nutrition that would otherwise be used in developing 
the less valuable parts of the system is thenceforth di- 
verted to the development of the system as a whole, 
hence a more perfect development of the more useful 
parts is secured than would be possible under the op- 
posite conditions. The energies of the system utilized 
in developing and sustaining the generative organs 
and function in uncastrated animals would also be 
devoted, in part at least, to the development of the 
more useful parts of the system in castrated animals. 



CASTRATION AND SPAYING. 367 

And the waste of energy consequent upon that greater 
degree of unrest that characterizes uncastrated ani- 
mals would, instead of being dissipated to no purpose, 
act in the same direction. With these forces thus 
acting in conjunction, the value of the entire carcass 
could not but be considerably enhanced, first through 
suppression in the less valuable parts of the carcass, 
and second, through increase in the more valuable 
parts. 

Castration and Cheapness of Production. — -That 
castration at the proper age cheapens the cost of pro- 
duction in meat will be evident from what has been 
said above regarding its influence, first, on absolute 
development, second, in arresting development, and 
third, in promoting useful development. It has been 
shown : 1. That it insures in a greater or a less degree 
of immunity from that restlessness which hinders 
flesh development in proportion as it is present. 2. 
That it insures the production of meat superior to 
what it would otherwise be by suppressing develop- 
ment in the less valuable parts, and by promoting it 
in those more valuable. And 3. That it secures a 
greater return in quantity. The conclusion therefore 
is self-evident, that castration materially cheapens the 
cost of production in meat, even without taking into 
account the greater ease with which castrated animals 
are managed, as shown below. When to this is added 
the increased value of such meat on the block, the im- 
portance of giving due attention to castration will be 
abundantly evident. 

Castration and Taint. — Castration hinders the 
production of meat with that taint which is sometimes 
imparted to it from activity in the generative func- 
tions. When the reproductive organs have become 



368 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

sufficiently developed to insure generation, they 
sometimes give to the meat more or less of a peculiar 
taint. This taint is imparted to it or at least accentu- 
ated through activity in the generative functions. 
It is not easily described. When present in a marked 
degree, it is discernible both through the organs of 
taste and smell. It has some resemblance to musk. 
When referring to it, it is common to speak of the 
meat as being "strong," but such language is very 
indefinite. The taint is more marked in well matured 
animals, at the special seasons for service, and in 
proportion to the frequency with which the animals 
are used in service. Such taint is entirely absent 
before the males are capable of begetting, and it usu- 
ally increases with the age of the animal. While it 
is present only in a slight degree and frequently not 
at all at certain seasons of the year, it is markedly 
present during the mating season. Activity in the 
generative functions and the reflex influence of the 
same on the system as a whole is probably the cause. 
To lessen this taint, aged males are frequently bled to 
death by a slow and gradual process. In other in- 
stances they are subjected to the hazard of castration 
before the final fattening process. 

Castration and Viciousness. — Castration usually 
corrects all tendencies to viciousness, at least it does 
so generally in no small degree. The influence which 
it thus exerts upon the spirit and temper of the animal 
is even greater than that which it exercises upon 
development. But when done at a comparatively ear- 
ly period, the immediate results are not so apparent 
since a sufficient age has not been reached to manifest 
in any striking way the characteristics of tempera- 
ment. The influence thus exercised is always of a 



CASTRATION AND SPAYING. 369 

softening character, and so patent is it that after 
castration the element of danger from males previous- 
ly pronouncedly vicious in character is almost wholly 
eliminated. Thus it is that in horses and oxen kept 
for labor, castration is almost universally practiced. 
The animals are thereby also rendered more useful, 
since, in addition to an increased mildness of temper, 
they are also possessed of more reliability in the line 
of obedience. This greater tractability is doubtless 
owing, in part, to the complete elimination of the un- 
settling influences arising from sexual desire. It has 
been noticed that castration enhances fidelity even in 
the dog. In the absence of castration it would scarce- 
ly be possible to manage animals kept for labor with- 
out the hazard of many accidents to those engaged in 
handling them and in some instances the loss of life. 
Castration and Ease in Managing Animals. — 
Castration promotes the ease with which animals may 
be managed. 1. They are more easily restrained by 
fences. With uncastrated males on one side of a 
fence and females of the same species in heat on the 
other side, no ordinary fence would suffice to prevent 
stallions or bulls from breaking through it. The habit 
once learned would not readily be forgotten. 2. Males 
and females may be kept together when necessary in 
the pasture, or in the feed lot or feed yard. In the 
absence of castration it would be necessary to keep 
males and females in distinctly separate inclosures, 
otherwise mating would be promiscuous and this 
would be fatal to the further improvement of live 
stock. While such measures would be expensive and 
difficult of accomplishment in summer they would also 
be still more expensive and difficult of accomplish- 
ment in winter. 3. The animals are more submissive 



370 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

to restraints put upon them and this will hold true 
whatsoever the character of the restraints. It is 
evident therefore that castration makes the entire 
management of animals much easier in every way 
that it would otherwise be. 

The Beneficial Effects of Early Castration. — 
The beneficial effects from early castration are usu- 
ally, if not indeed always, proportionate to the near- 
ness to the birth period when it is done. It is usually 
deemed advisable, however, to allow all young animals 
to remain uncastrated for at least a week from the 
time of birth. Time is thus given to the young ani- 
mal to safely adjust itself to the new conditions of its 
being before anything is done that will even tempora- 
rily weaken the action of the vital forces. When 
castration is done early there is then practically no 
undue development of the parts less valuable as meat. 
(See page 364.) Nor are the energies of the system 
diverted from building up the true meat-producing 
form. The best age therefore at which to castrate 
meat making animals is when they are young. 

The most satisfactory results are obtained when 
swine are castrated while yet on the clam and even 
when not yet one month old. The same is also true 
of lambs. Calves may also be best castrated under 
the age of a month, whether reared on the dam or 
by hand. But it is not to be understood that results 
seriously unsatisfactory will follow if the animals 
are allowed to reach a greater age before they are 
castrated. When preserving only the choicest of the 
males as sires, it is frequently necessary to defer 
castration until the animals are so far developed that 
the ultimate form which they will assume can be 
pretty certainly known. Thus it may be necessary 



CASTRATION AND SPAYING. 371 

sometimes to defer castration in meat making ani- 
mals until that period is closely approached when they 
become capable of begetting. Since colts are not 
grown for meat, it is usual to defer castrating them 
until they have reached, the age of several months or 
even a year, and partly for the reason, that time is 
thus given for the development of that spirit and 
nerve so essential to the usefulness of the horse. 

Castration and Advancing Age. — The danger 
attendant upon castration increases with the advanc- 
ing age of the animal. This is owing, in part at least, 
to the greater violence of the shock produced upon 
the system. At maturity the forces of the system 
have become so set in their action, that to thus divert 
any part of them thus suddenly produces serious 
disturbance to the whole system, and so serious in 
occasional instances as to result in the death of the 
animal. Such a result may also be owing in part to 
the decreased activity of the functions which sustain 
the system generally, including those concerned in the 
repair of the injured parts. Thus it is that the re- 
pair of injured parts is increasingly difficult as the 
birth period is receded from. 

Spaying Defined. — By spaying is meant the re- 
moval of the ovaries in females. The objects sought 
in spaying are, first, to render females incapable of 
breeding, and second, to render them more capable 
of being easily fattened. In many instances it may 
not be desirable to keep females for breeding because 
of undesirable form or because of excess of numbers. 
In such instances, therefore, the goal of these is the 
block and at an early age. If not "spayed as soon as 
these animals become capable of breeding, they are 
notably restless during the period of heat, and are 



372 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

also at such times more or less of a disquieting factor 
to the animals with whom they feed. Such dis- 
quietude is unfavorable to flesh production. When 
the ovaries are removed the energies of the system 
that were previously concentrated on building up and 
sustaining those parts concerned in generation are 
diverted to the production of meat. Beyond these 
advantages no others that are very marked would seem 
to be secured, since spaying does not arrest the de- 
velopment of the less useful parts as castration does 
in males. 

Spaying More Difficult than Castration. — Spay- 
ing is a more delicate operation than castration. It 
is also more difficult and it is attended with more of 
hazard. That it is a more difficult operation to per- 
form will be manifest from its nature, the ovaries 
being not so readily accessible to the operator. The 
greater difficulty of the operation increases the liabil- 
ity that it will not be performed with the necessary 
precision, hence the increased hazard. Spaying 
should not be done therefore unless by a properly in- 
structed operator. This does not mean that no one 
save a professional man should do this work, for non- 
professional men have in many instances been pro- 
nouncedly successful in the same, but that no one should 
attempt it who has not been carefully instructed as 
to how it should be done, and that none should engage 
extensively in the work until they have first proved 
their fitness for the same by the success that has previ- 
ously attended efforts restricted in their scope. Nor 
should spaying ever be done unless some distinctive 
advantage is to be expected from it that will more 
than make up for the temporarily arrested develop- 
ment that immediately follows the operation. 



CASTRATION AND SPAYING. 373 

Spaying Less Necessary than Castration. — The 
necessity for spaying females in localities where stall 
feeding is practiced and where early maturity is 
sought is not so great as for castrating males. In 
such localities males kept for service are not usually 
allowed to run at large with the females, hence the 
latter are easily preserved from Decerning pregnant. 
The early maturing of animals has also shortened the 
period required for their development, and in pro- 
portion as this period has heen shortened, the neces- 
sity for spaying has been lessened. "Nevertheless, it 
may be advantageous in pastoral countries where 
fencing and building materials, are not plentiful. The 
same is true and even in a greater degree of open 
ranges where the animals run at large during all or 
nearly all the year. Under such conditions it would 
scarcely be practicable to prevent them from becom- 
ing pregnant in any other way than through spaying. 

Animals With Imperfect Procreative Organs. — 
Animals with but one testicle and one ovary are quite 
capable of begetting and conceiving as the case may 
be when the development of one or the other of these 
is perfect. Young males greatly prized because of 
their lineage have been frequently rejected as sires 
because of the absence or imperfect development of 
one testicle, when, at the same time, they would beget 
surely and with much potency. The objection, how- 
ever, remains, that on the principle of the first great 
law of breeding, the offspring might inherit in some 
degree the tendency to such development. In some 
instances males possess the power to beget when the 
only testicle developed is wanting in complete de-' 
velopment. In other instances they cannot beget. Of 
course animals of this class should not be kept for 



374 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

breeding where the defect is known. It should also 
be remembered that it is not wise to allow a male 
with but one testicle, though ill-developed, to run at 
large with females, even though incapable of be- 
getting. Such an animal disturbs them more or lesfe 
and such disturbance is prejudicial in proportion as it 
is present. 



CHAPTER XXX. 



MATING ANIMALS. 



The question of mating animals properly is not 
well understood by the many. Xor is it surprising 
that it is so, since it virtually involves the application 
of every principle concerned in selection. (See p. 
303.) That it is not better understood is unfortunate 
for live stock interests, since, without a proper knowl- 
edge of mating animals so as to eliminate defects, a 
high standard of attainment cannot be reached when 
breeding them. 

One Chief Object in Mating. — In mating ani- 
mals one chief aim should be so to pair them as to 
correct in the progeny what is deficient in either 
parent or in both. For example : if one parent is weak 
in the hind flank the other should be strong there. 
Or, should one parent be unduly long of limb the 
other should be more than ordinarily short of limb. 
It may not be possible in practice to always choose 
animals thus when mating them, for the reason that 
when a number of types are found in one herd on the 
side of the females, to mate them thus would involve 
the purchase of as many males as there were different 
types among the females. Such conditions are fre- 
quent when the materials are brought together to 
found a herd. It is a result that is generally the out- 
come of inexperience, or of lack of knowledge on the 
part of those establishing herds. It does not follow 
that the types chosen are inferior, but simply that 
they are different. 



376 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

Under the circumstances therefore, where one 
male will suffice in a stud, herd or flock, it is greatly 
important that the said male shall be a typical speci- 
men of the kind of animals which it may be desired 
to breed. If the same plan of breeding is continued 
from year to year, in a few generations the diversity 
in type in the foundation females will disappear in 
the progeny. Such mating may not at the first con- 
form fully with the principle of so mating animals, 
male and female, that each parent shall help the de- 
fects of the other in the progeny, but it is the nearest 
approach that can be made to it in practice when only 
one male can be kept for service. It is of course dif- 
ferent when several males are so kept, for then there 
is more latitude in the choice of the male that shall be 
paired with each female. 

Defects that Belong to Both Parents Intensified. 
— When the same defect belongs to both parents, it 
will almost certainly be intensified in the offspring. 
Breeding on such lines should be sedulously avoided, 
since, first, it will tend to perpetuate in animals that 
which is faulty in type. Such breeding would be a 
mistake, viewed from the standpoint of financial 
gains, and serious in proportion as the defect is rela- 
tively serious. And second, the danger would exist 
that the longer such breeding was practiced the more 
difficult would it be to correct the evil. 

How to Correct Characteristic Defects. — When 
any defect is so common that it may be looked upon 
as a characteristic of the herd or flock, rather than an 
accidental variation, it is greatly important that a 
prepotent sire shall be chosen possessed of character- 
istics that are likely to remedy the defect. If such 
a defect is an original trait of the species, it may stub- 



MATING ANIMALS. 377 

bornly resist such correction. Examples are found in 
the attempts that have been made to remove lightness 
of thigh in the Hereford, over-nervousness in the Ayr- 
shire and the white color in Shorthorns.. After many 
years of careful breeding some llerefords are yet 
a little light in the thigh. Ayrshires are yet in some 
instances over-sensitive, and the white color in Short- 
horns is still more or less frequent. Usually, how- 
ever, some progress will be made in correcting such 
defects each successive mating with prepotent sires. 

Mating and Compactness in the Sires. — In 
breeding or mating animals when there is a difference 
in male and female, as such, as to compactness, it is 
considered preferable to have the male the more com- 
pact of the two. This, by many good breeders, has 
come to be recognized as a principle that should apply 
in the selection of males and females for breeding. 
It rests first in the fact that the compact form is 
associated more or less closely with vigor of constitu- 
tion, which is considered more important relatively 
in the male. In this way the careful choice of males 
may be made a safeguard in protecting constitutional 
vigor, and it should never be lost sight of when select- 
ing them. It rests, second, in the fact that the body 
of the female ought to be more roomy relatively 
than that of the male, so that in the process of genera- 
tion the well developed foetus within the former will 
not press too much on the space occupied by and be- 
longing to certain other organs of the body. The 
relation is also close between the large, roomy barrel 
in the female and free milk production after the. 
young have been brought forth. And such females 
breed more regularly and are more reliable as breed- 
ers than those of the blocky type. But care should 



378 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

be taken not to press these distinctions too far, nor 
can they be applied in equal degree with all classes 
of live stock. 

Mating Females Unreliable as Breeders. — When 
the breeding powers of the female are unreliable, it 
is important that she shall be ma'tecl with a vigorous 
male. Such mating will be more certain to insure 
conception. And if the male is possessed of mixed 
or alien blood, conception in the female, it is thought, is 
more assured. Whether such a result is to be at- 
tributed to the simple fact that such blood is alien is 
yet an open question. Mixed blood especially is fre- 
quently associated with greater individual vigor than 
blood long bred without any admixture of alien blood. 
But the effort thus to improve the breeding powers 
of females unreliable as breeders will not avail, unless 
care is taken at the same time to maintain the system 
in such a condition as will be favorable to conception, 
by feeding food eminently suited to such an end, and 
by giving all the exercise practicable under the cir- 
cumstances. It may even be advantageous to insist 
upon enforced exercise, as, for instance, using such 
a female upon a tread power. Such exercise with 
mares kept for breeding is more easily controlled than 
with females of other classes of animals. 

Restoring Power to Beget in Males. — When the 
begetting powers of valuable males have become im- 
paired to the extent of being unable to procreate, they 
may in some instances be restored. The measures 
that favor such restoration will depend upon the na- 
ture of the loss in begetting power. Usually, however, 
they will include the following: 1. Giving the liberty 
of a pasture. Such liberty is usually very helpful when 
the animals have previously been more or less confined. 



MATING ANIMALS. 379 

2. Enforcing exercise by labor. Bulls especially may be 
managed thus in winter when pastures are not acces- 
sible. 3. Reducing the system gradually by feeding 
foods less concentrated. Gradual reduction is recom- 
mended, since sudden changes tend to disturb yet 
further rather than to correct derangement in the 
system of animals. 4. Feeding a small quantity of 
ground wheat or of some other food well capable of 
nourishing the procreative powers. The effectiveness 
of these measures will be considerably dependent up- 
on the cause of the impotency. If it has arisen simply 
from the want of exercise or from excessive feeding 
as in fitting for the shows, the hope of restored power 
to beget may be cherished. If on the other hand 
organic derangement has been the cause, the hope of 
restoration is much weakened. 

Females Irregularly in Heat. — It will not avail 
to have females served which manifest the breeding 
impulse at irregular periods. The recurrence of those 
periods in mares, cows, ewes, and sows is at intervals 
of twenty-one days. Their duration is usually from 
two to three days. And their regular occur- 
rence at such intervals is a pretty sure in- 
dication of healthy action in the organs con- 
cerned in generation. On the other hand when 
the periods of heat come at other times they 
bring with them evidence of derangement in the 
breeding organs. And the evidence is strong in pro- 
portion as the irregularity is marked. If such de- 
rangement cannot be corrected by treatment of one 
kind or another, conception cannot take place. 

Females too Frequently in Heat. — When fe- 
males manifest the breeding impulse every few days 
and go about the pastures restless and continually 



3.S0 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

disturbing the other animals of the herd, they should 
be sent to the block. Sometimes such instances occur 
in herds of cows. The individual thus affected will 
roam about the pastures disturbing the other animals 
of the herd and lowing more or less. These mani- 
festations indicate such derangement of the reproduc- 
tive functions as ordinarily resist remedial measures. 
To have such animals served is simply to waste to no 
purpose the energies of the male. The disquietude 
which such an animal may cause in a herd may soon 
lead to serious loss, hence it should at once be re- 
moved and made ready for the block. And since it 
may not fatten readily because of the unrest which 
characterizes it, there may be wisdom in sending it 
directly to the block, even though at an apparent 
sacrifice. 

Sudden Changes of Condition Unfavorable to 
Breeding. — When animals have been pampered by 
high feeding, sudden changes of condition are un- 
favorable to regular breeding. For instance, when 
they have been forced into high flesh as for the show 
ring, they are more likely to breed if kept in a fairly 
high condition of flesh subsequent to having been ex- 
hibited than they would be if the condition of flesh 
was suddenly reduced. While reduction of flesh at 
such a time will probably prove favorable to breeding, 
it ought to be a gradual reduction such as follows a 
reduction in the carbonaceous food elements and an 
increase in succulence in the food given. A uniform 
condition of what is termed as being in good flesh and 
even high flesh is more favorable to regular breeding 
than marked alternations in condition. This partly 
explains why some herdsmen succeed in getting show 
animals to breed with no little reliability while others 



MATING ANIMALS. 381 

fail. Nor should the fact be overlooked, that when 
there is a necessity for feeding carbonaceous foods, 
those of this class that are succulent will be much 
more favorable to conception and generation than if 
the succulent element were lacking. (See p. 208.) 

Violent Crossing or Mating Defined. — Violent 
crossing or violent mating mav relate : 1. To the mat- 
ing of animals dissimilar in species. The mating of 
the ass and the mare illustrates such mating. 2. To 
the mating of animals of the same breed but of lines 
of blood or of families unrelated, and differing much 
in type. For instance, if in breeding Aberdeen Angus 
cattle a line bred female of the Pride family were 
mated with a male of some obscure family and es- 
sentially of a different type, though of the same breed, 
such crossing may be spoken of as violent crossing. 
3. It may further relate to the mating of animals 
between whom there is great disparity in size, even 
though of the same species, as, for instance, mating a 
ponderous Clydesdale stallion with a Cleveland bay 
mare. Such crosses are not desirable as will be shown 
below, and consequently should be avoided unless a 
definite purpose is to be served by making them. 

Mating Different Species.— Such mating is un- 
favorable to continued reproduction, as witnessed in 
the total inability of the jack to beget, and the almost 
total inability of the hinny to breed. The jack, as is 
well known, is the male progeny of the ass and the 
mare. The hinny is the female progeny of the horse 
and the ass. Both crosses are made with a view to 
unite certain good qualities possessed by both species 
in the progeny. The former is the favorite cross. 
The jack has much more size and speed than the ass, 
and linked with such increase in size and speed, is 



382 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

much of the patience, fortitude and endurance of 
the ass, along with ability to thrive on fare which 
would not maintain the horse in good form. But this 
combination of qualities cannot be thus perpetuated 
by breeding from the progeny. Nature has erected a 
barrier between the species which is unquestionably 
intended to protect the same. Because of this, man 
cannot break down such barriers with impunity. 
Hence it is that efforts to perpetuate the progeny re- 
sulting from the union of the buffalo male with Gallo- 
way cows has not heretofore been successful. 

Mating Dissimilar Types. — The great objection 
to crossing .or mating types that are dissimilar, arises 
from the danger of producing undesirable variations. 
Good qualities secured by generations of careful 
breeding may thus be sacrificed in a single cross. 
Outcrossing within a breed may sometimes be neces- 
sary as previously shown (see p. 133) but whenever 
clone it ought to be done cautiously and in a tentative 
way at the first. Since, however, types long bred in 
line and in consequence weakened in stamina, may in 
some instances be renovated and improved in this 
way, such crossing or mating should not be too pro- 
nouncedly discriminated against. 

Mating Animals Differing Much in Size and 
Shapes. — Mating or crossing animals between whom 
there is great disparity in size is not desirable. 
Trouble may arise at parturition, especially when the 
male is larger than the female, not so much from the 
absolute size of the young animals when born, as from 
peculiarities in development. It is at least ques- 
tionable if the size of the fcetus when fully developed 
is affected by the size of the male or by the amount of 
the male element of generation present at the time of 



MATING ANIMALS. 383 

impregnation. That would seem to be controlled al- 
most entirely, if not indeed entirely, by the extent 
to which the foetus is nourished by the female during 
the period of intra-uterine development. This may 
be contrary to the popular view, but is it not sustained 
by the facts ? After parturition, however, there can 
be no question but that size is affected by inheritance 
from both parents, and it is also true that form is 
influenced by the male parent as well as by the fe- 
male. And because of this, peculiarities of form may 
arise, which, as a direct result of certain kinds of 
mating give trouble at the time of birth. When the 
disparity in size is very marked it has been noticed 
that more difficulty is found in obtaining form that is 
desirable than when the mating is of an opposite 
character. 

Service Soon After Parturition. — It is not con- 
sidered g'ood practice to serve females, as sows for in- 
stance, within a few days of the date of parturition. 
This practice has been followed by some breeders who 
have the sow served within two to four clays of the 
birth of the pigs. Such breeding would incur the 
hazard: 1. That the vigor of the female would be 
injured by overtaxing; 2, that the litter she was feed- 
ing would not be so generously fed ; and 3, that the 
foetus of the future litter would also be deprived of 
that nourishment necessary to insure desirable devel- 
opment. Sows will not always accept service at such 
a time, but when they do, the machinery of the vital 
forces is being driven too rapidly. During the nurs- 
ing period it is difficult in any case to prevent reduc- 
tion in the condition of the sow. When the tax is put 
upon her of sustaining such a family, and of nourish- 
ing the foetus at the same time while in process of 



384 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

development, the burden must unduly tax the energies 
of the sow. The litter she is nursing cannot but in 
some degree fall short of the sustenance that they 
would otherwise get from the sow, and the litter in 
embryo, as intimated, is also deprived of a full measure 
of sustenance. It would not be long possible to main- 
tain sufficient vigor in swine where such a method of 
breeding was generally practiced. Nor is it neces- 
sary in sows even where two litters are produced in 
a year, for this result can be accomplished though 
the mating of the sow should be deferred for two 
months from the date of the birth of the young pigs. 

When two crops of lambs in one year are exacted 
of ewes in a climate where the winter is stern and 
long, it is very doubtful if sufficient size and stamina 
in the same can be maintained. It may be different, 
however, in mild climates. Nor do experienced stock- 
men care to have cows served the first time they come 
in heat after having produced a calf. If the cows are 
well sustained this frequently takes place in about 
six weeks from the time of parturition. They claim 
that conception is less certain than when the mating 
is longer deferred. But when mares are to raise colts 
every year, it is necessary that they shall again be 
mated a few days subsequently to the birth of the 
foal. The favorite time is nine days after the foal has 
been born. If such mating is to be commended in the 
mare, why should it be condemned in the sow ? The 
conditions are different. The mare has eleven months 
to grow the foetus, the sow has less than four. The 
mare can nurse the foal for half a year and more, the 
sow has only a few weeks in which to nourish her 
litter. The drain, therefore, en the system of the 
former in producing her young is much less relatively 
than on the system of the latter. 



MATING ANIMALS. 385 

Overtaxing Prior to Mating. — When the ener- 
gies of the animal have been overtaxed, or when ani- 
mals have been violently exercised just before mating, 
the danger of failure in conception is more imminent. 
These facts should be given due recognition when 
animals are to be mated. The reference here is not 
so much to energies reduced through severe and pro- 
longed labor as to the overtaxing of the same during 
the period of heat. Where females are to be taken 
a long distance to be mated, they should either be 
carted, led or driven slowly. Violent exercise at such 
a time is quite unfavorable to conception. And after 
females have been mated it is equally important that 
they shall not dp allowed or required to take violent 
exercise. 



APPENDIX A. 

PERIOD OE GESTATION IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 

The average duration, approximately, of the 
period of gestation in domestic quadrupeds may be 
given as stated below : 

The Ass 365 days. The Sow. ...... 113 days. 

" Mare 330 "' " Dog ..63 « 

" Cow 282 " " Cat 50 " 

" Sheep ....149 " " Kabbit 30 " 

" Goat 149 " " Guinea Pig 21 " 

The average duration, approximately, of the 

period required in hatching the eggs of the various 

domestic breeds of fowls may be set down as follows : 

The Goose ..... .30 days. The Guinea Hen .26 days. 

" Turkey. 29 " " Hen... 21 " 

" Duck 29 " " Pigeon 18 " 

" Peahen 28 " 

The extremes in the duration of the period of 

gestation in the mare, the cow. the ewe and the sow 

may be set down as follows : 

The Mare 295 days to 370 days. 

" Cow 265 " 300 " 

" Ewe 145 " 154 " 

" Sow 110 " 118 " 

The extremes in the duration of the period of in- 
cubation in the various classes of domestic fowls 
named below may be given as follows : 

The Goose 27 days to 33 days. 



Turkey 26 

Duck 26 

Peahen 28 

Guinea Hen 25 

Pigeon 16 



30 
32 
30 
26 
20 



APPENDIX A. 387 

It is not intended that the figures given above 
will cover every possible variation that may occur, 
but that they fix the limits beyond which extremes 
occur but rarely in the period included in .gestation 
and incubation respectively. 

Observations. — 1. There is unquestionably some 
relation between the size of the various classes of ani- 
mals and the duration of the periods covered by ges- 
tation and incubation respectively. While the period 
during which the female elephant carries her young 
may be given as from twenty to twenty-three months, 
that during which the female sheep carries hers is 
approximately five months, and while the period of in- 
cubation with geese may be given as thirty days, with 
hens it is only twenty-one days. And this relation 
would seem to hold true, in some degree at least, be- 
tween the larger and smaller breeds of the same 
species. 

2. It is probably true that early maturity exer- 
cises some influence on the period covered by gesta- 
tion and incubation, the early maturing breeds coming 
into existence in a somewhat shorter period than those 
which mature later. 

3. In the process of incubation it has been 
noticed that eggs from the smaller species of fowls 
hatch rather more quickly when incubated under fowls 
of a larger species, owing, it is thought, to the greater 
heat which descends from their bodies. 

4. The opinion is prevalent that males take a 
somewhat longer period to mature in embryo than 
females, and it would seem to be true, but further evi- 
dence is necessary before the correctness of the opin- 
ion can be looked upon as established. 

5. The influences that *lead to the great varia- 



388 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

tions noticed in the period of gestation in animals of 
the same species are by no means clearly understood, 
but it will doubtless be correct to say that they include 
size, heredity, bodily vigor, food and climate, and, in 
some instances, disease. 

6. The influences that tend to produce variation 
in the period covered by incubation in the same class 
of fowls, include size, heredity, freshness or staleness 
in the eggs, atmospheric changes and disturbances, 
and attention or inattention on the part of the sit- 
ters. 



APPENDIX B. 

READING AM) WRITING PEDIGREES. 

As intimated in Chapter XXTI, there are essen- 
tially but two systems of writing pedigrees. An ex- 
ample of each is now submitted with the necessary 
explanations. The pedigree of an in-and-in bred ani- 
mal .will also be submitted. 

Writing Pedigrees by the first System. — The ex- 
ample which follows represents a fictitious pedigree 
made out and ready for entry in the Dominion Short- 
Horn Herd Book. If is made out on an entry form 
furnished by the secretary of the Dominion Short- 
Horn Breeders' Association. The entry form of this 
association has been chosen because of its comprehen- 
siveness, which brings along with it the opportunity to 
make explanations more full and complete. Owing 
to the groat volume of business done by many of the 
American associations, they publish only as much of 
the pedigree' as makes it practicable to trace it 
readily, hence, the entry forms only call for such in- 
formation as will enable the secretary to record the 



O -<D 

Q* 1 
Oil | 

ES-. <d 

o © 
w * 

+J ^, CC 

01 If 
Eftl 



s 

mm u 



J* 






o 






o 






02 












ri 






■a 






£ 






-C 






a 


to 




Os 


■a 


e 




*i 






O 






a 






<D 






W 






l>> 












CO 






a 






o 


















0J 






!h 






Cu, 






M 


o 




^ 


w 




H 
P3 


d 
o 

05 






CQ 


.. 


fa 


"3 
S-i 


o 


CO 


fa 


gr. 


H 


03 


«! 


g 


Q 






d 


O 


5 


o 


-d 


Q 


<B 




w 


— 


ai 






fa 


3 


CO 


© 




1 


i 




«$ 


T3 


g 




£ 
^ 


of 

a 


fa 
o 


i 


w 


uj 


g 


9 


< 


f"5 


fc 







w 
o 

fa 



lg§2 

fa <a +» co 

o gas 
Bill 



ISO 
a a g 

C O 03 

' : i-s oo 



3? 



w 


^ 


tf 


§ 


02 




fa 




o 






<J 


GO 

o 


^ 


fe 


o 
















S 









^ 



fa 


- 


k 





ct 


ft 


fa 




o 


C/J 


fa ©J) 


h 


a 


< 


«*1 


fl 





cx 5 
fa cc 

o« 

95 "2 
W ^ 
K< 

£a 

P 

fa 

fa 



CCrHlCNW-JCONCOl-tOCJoi 

^■gCCOOOt-CNCOCOTt'COi-'CC'C 
»piOO(NOION»»fq 
t-l>«(OlOC<:CNH 



II II II II 



II II 






II II II 



a 

*a 
o § 

T3 03 

® bo; 

9-c, 



II II 



05 03 r^ 

o S a p,^ 

<J cu - ' 

C3 O 



O 03 •- -^ ^ 0> » P — •« lS 5 5 



O II 



II II II II 



(OrllOH- 1 ^H m (M o o 
OhOHOOHOhHO 

cocNcoiocociisrpcoai 

OlS-*W(NHHHH 



•S5"S a a 

IQ Tfi CO ^5 " 



S s t» £ £2 -^ ,o ,o £> 

^?a«O30303oao3 
.a<^c303^^^.t-'- 






5 S 
a** 



II 



a c 



S-g^ 



<»o a ^ 
5« 08 
o-a m ot 

£§ ^'-S 
a jH cpcs 

^3 o +3 co 

^ a as ^ 

< Z, £ _J_CO 

I CO cp 0=g 

&£ ^n 
03 a 

S'55 03 5 

»fc< fa! c 

' a s -1 



fid 



J — P.CP 

• .ai.2 
W -^l^ 



03CNf0^l0Ol>.Ci0OO^H(Ne0 



APPENDIX B. 



391 



animal. As previously intimated, the blank entry 
forms are furnished, on application, by the secretary 
of the association. Usually no charge is made for 
them, but to this there are some exceptions. 

Explanations. — The following explanations are 
given in the hope that they will enable those not fa- 
miliar with pedigrees the more readily to understand 
the facts stated and the relation which they bear to 
one another. 

1. Observe the record signs of the numbers. 
The American record number is written without any 
sign. The English record number is enclosed in 
round brackets, and the Canadian record number is 
preceded and followed by the sign of equality. Thus 
in the fourth sire, Risingham, the American record 
number is 150611, the English record number 
(65342), and the Oanadian=-8204=. The tendency 
in the United States is to write the record number 
without associating with it any sign. 

2. The facts relating to ownership signify that 
John Anderson bred Jessamine 2d, that he sold her to 
John Riley, and that she was sold by John Riley to 
Samuel Gray before the application was made by 
John Anderson to have Jessamine 2d registered. 
Otherwise the fact of the sale to Samuel Gray could 
not have been mentioned. 

3. Bolivar (75418), the sire of Jessamine 2d, as 
his record number implies, is recorded in the English 
Shorthorn Herd Book, and the fact of his importation 
is stated by the use of the abbreviated word (imp.) 
Conrad = 10314=is the sire of Jessamine = 6306 = , 
and he too was imported, though the fact is not oi 
necessity stated, since he is recorded in the English 



392 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

Herd Book. Camperdown=9607=is the sire of 
Rosebud=5211=, and each sire preceding in the an- 
cestry is in tnrn the sire of the dam which stands to 
the left and opposite to it. No two of these sires are 
of necessity related to one another, although some of 
them may be related. 

4. Jessamine = 630G=, it will be observed, is 
the dam of Jessamine 2d, and Rosebud=5211 =is the 
dam of Jessamine=6306 =. This order in relation- 
ship is observed down to the end of the list of the 
dams. The female ancestry of Jessamine 2d, there- 
fore, are given in an unbroken succession, tracing 
back to Arabella, which was imported, and since the 
name Arabella appears so many times in the earlier 
female ancestry, Jessamine 2d would be said to be of 
the Arabella family. 

5. As nothing more is stated in the pedigree re- 
garding the sires than the name and pedigree number, 
if further information is desired with reference to the 
pedigree of any one of them, it may be obtained by 
noting the record number and referring to the volume 
which contains it. The record numbers included in 
any volume of the herd book are usually stated on the 
back of the same. For instance, to obtain the pedi- 
gree of Risingham, which is recorded in the Amer- 
ican, English and Canadian shorthorn herd books 
respectively, it would be necessary to refer to the vol- 
ume in one of the aforementioned records which has 
in it the record number assigned to Risingham. 

6. As nothing more is stated in the pedigree re- 
garding the dams than the name and number of the 
sire and the respective names of the ancestry in the 
dams, to obtain the full pedigree it will be necessary 



APPENDIX B. 393 

to consult the herd book, as in the case of the sire. 
But since numbers are not assigned to the dams in the 
American or English herd books the pedigrees can only 
be found by referring to the index of the respective 
volumes issued by the association which has recorded 
the dam whose pedigree is sought, and since several 
of the recorded dams may have the same name, th# 
search for the pedigree becomes frequently a labored 
work. But in nearly all records numbers are assigned 
to the dams as well as to the sires. 

Observations. — 1. Because of the labor involved 
in looking up a pedigree in the records of some of the 
live stock associations, and since in some of these pedi- 
grees are only recorded in the abbreviated form, it 
will be found advantageous in such instances to have 
a private record which contains a complete pedigree 
of every animal purchased or bred upon the farm. 
Such a record would be most convenient for refer- 
ence. 

2. In preparing pedigrees for private or sale 
catalogues, it is customary to append historical facts 
to the same. These are given in the form of foot- 
notes, and they are such as relate to the performance 
of the animals in production, or action, and winnings 
in the show ring. 

Writing Pedigrees by the Second System. — The 
illustration given below of writing pedigrees by the 
second system, represents the pedigree of an animal 
that has already been recorded. But the system and 
method of making out the pedigree of an animal not 
yet recorded would be the same except that the num- 
ber of the said animal could not be stated. It reads 
as follows : — 



<a o 

fe(M 



CO 

3 OO 



o ■* 





»o 










00 


r/) 










rH 


Ph 




Ph 


>> 






+3 


ft 


m 








CI 


Ah' 

'oo 

o 


GO 

'oo -jl 

oo X s 

o> . 
'8 M 


+3 

00 

00 

h 

S3 
< 


OO 

a 

u 

CD 

O 

pi 

eg 

Is 


u 

CO 


o 
o 
■a 

l© 

o 
d 


O 

«H (-1 
O 0) 

. 00 

£■5 


1 

c 
"ft 

s 

■5? 


ft 
3 

CO 

d 

s 

>5 


e3 
Hi 
h 

ft 
ft 


o 

>> 

+3 

eS 

ft 
ft 


d 

hi 
h 


00 

c 

s 




o 


+3 


03 


0) o 


£s 


o 


h3 


| 


| 


ft 


Ph 



(jli 

h-lft 00 



CP HH -H 

ft£2 



si 
Is 






CO SI 0" 



ft£ 



2<* ° 



la 



k -rtoo 

^3 §8 -SB* 
|«lft« 

fl C h B) g. 

•M O 'g 1H ft 

a ee+| _co 



C5 



I? 

HH 
ft 

Ah 



O . 






APPENDIX B. 395 

Explanations. — 1. The preceding pedigroe is that 
of the noted prize winning Guernsey Bull Primeval 
4812, which was bred by George C. Hill & Son, 
Kosendale, Wis. The date of birth was 'Nov. 29th, 
189G. Primeval was for three years at the head of 
the Guernsey herd of the Wisconsin Live Stock Com- 
pany, located at Stanley, Wis. The last fact stated 
does not appear in the pedigree nor do any facts re- 
lating to the winnings of Primeval in the show ring. 
But these and any number of facts desired pertaining 
to any of the animals in the pedigree could be ap- 
pended in the form of footnotes. 

2. Observe the plan of the pedigree. It gives 
the ancestry on the side of both sire and dam with 
equal fullness, where the names of these can be ob- 
tained. They can always be so obtained except in 
the case of some animals of the foundation stock. 
The sire of Primeval 4812 is Viscount 2177, and his 
dam is Benjamin's Primrose 7820. The sire of Vis- 
count is Bonny Boy 1097 and the dam Countess of 
Fernwood 1464. The sire of Benjamin's Primrose 
is Benjamin 1931, and the dam Fair Lad's Primrose 
3244. Similarly the relationship of each sire and 
dam in the ancestry is shown, the sire always being 
written at the top of the bracket and the dam at the 
bottom of the same. 

3. Certain facts are given with reference to the 
history and performance of several of the animals in 
the pedigree. Countess of Ferndale 1464 is shown to 
have been imported by the abbreviated word a Imp" 
prefixed to her name. It is further indicated that she 
gave 14 lbs. 12 oz. of butter in seven days, the time 
for brevity's sake being implied rather than stated. 



396 ANIMAL BREEDING. 

The prizes won by Benjamin 1931, or at least some of 
them, are given. It is recorded of Bonnie Lassie, of 
Fernwood 1485, that she was imported and that in 
the two-year-old form she gave 8000 pounds of milk 
in one year, the time being implied rather than stated. 
Facts are given regarding the performance of Trick- 
sey 1760 at the pail and in the show ring, and divers 
facts are similarly stated regarding certain other ani- 
mals in the pedigree. 

4. The letters "G. IT. B." indicate the Guernsey 
Herd Book as distinguished from the American 
Guernsey Herd Book. The letters "F. S." indicate 
foundation stock, and the letters "P. S." pedigree 
stock. 

Observations. — 1. By the above system it is pos- 
sible to give certain facts regarding each animal in 
the pedigree if sufficiently meritorious, but it should 
be remembered that such facts become relatively less 
valuable with increasing remoteness in the ancestry. 
The tendency now is to confine the facts stated in the 
pedigree to performance and to state historical facts 
in the form of footnotes. 

2. The more complete lineage of any animal in 
the pedigree may be obtained by consulting the vol- 
ume of the herd book in which such animal is 
recorded. This can be ascertained from the number 
of the animal. 

Pedigree Representing Close In-and-in Breed- 
ing, — ;p or the pedigree given below, which names the 
ancestors of the closely in-and-in bred Jersey Two 
Hundred Per Cent 33592, the author is indebted to 
Mr. Thomas J. Hand, of New York City. It repre- 
sents in full the ancestry for three generations : — 



APPENDIX B. 



397 



Two Hundred 
Per Cent. 335y2. 



One Hundred 
Per Cent. 16590. 



^Leclair's Mar- 
joram 3G3f>5. 



f Stoke Pogis 
StokePogis5th J (846 E.H.B.) 1259 Imp. 
5987. ) 

[Marjoram 3239, Imp. 
with Stoke Pogis. 

Leclair's Mar- ( Stoke Pogis, as above, 
joram 36355. j Marjoram) „ „ 

f Young Rioter 
(.751 E.H.B.) by Rioter 
(746) Dauncey's. 

Essay, by Young Rioter 



Stoke Pogis 
(846 E. H. B.) 



( Dr. Syntax (240 E.H.B.) 
[Marjoram 3239. ] 

( Magnet, by The Gipsy 
(354 E.H.B.) 

Observations. — 1. In the seven male ancestors 
given in the three generations, the blood of Stoke 
Pogis (846 E. H. B.) appears directly or in his sons 
five times. It also appears twice in the dams. In 
the seven female ancestors the blood of Marjoram 
3239 likewise appears five times, and it also is present 
in two of the seven sires. 

2. The results of such in-and-in breeding mnst 
speedily lead to disaster, as shown in Chapter X. 



INDEX 



PAGE. 

Abnormal characters, not uni- 
formly inherited 67 

Abnormal, heredity that is 66 

Acquired characters, heredity 

of 70 

Acquired characters, illustrated 70 
Acquired characters and 
original traits conflicting 

elements 71 

Adaptation and environment... 362 

Advanced registration 20 

Age, its influence on transmis- 
sion 156 

Age, old, indications of 299 

Animal Form as an Index of 
Qualities — Chapter XXIII. 

283-300 

Interpreting 283 

Indications of speed and labor 284 
Illustrating typical beef form, 

Fig. 8 285 

Indications of meat produc- 
tion 286 

Bodily form in the various 
classes of meat producing 

> animals 286 

. Indications of milk produc- 

• tion 287 

Indications of wool produc- 
tion 288 

Indications of breeding and 

breeding capacity 289 

Indications of constitutional 

vigor 290 

Illustrating constitutional 

vigor, Fig. 9 291 

Indications of lack of con- 
stitution 293 

Indications of active nutri- 
tion 293 

Indications of a good quality 

of flesh 294 

Illustrating quietness of dis- 
position, Fig. 10 296 

Indications of quietness of 

disposition 297 

Indications of nervous force.. 297 
Indications of -present bodily 

health 298 

Indications of old age 299 

Appendix A,, Period of Gesta- 
tion in Domestic Animals. 386-388 
Appendix B, Reading and Writ- 
ing Pedigrees 389 397 

By first system _ 389 

By second system 393 

Ciose in-and-in breeding 396 



PAGE. 

Artificial Conditions — Chapter 

XX 240-252 

Defined 240 

Seeking improvement 

through 241 

Influence of food 243 

Influence of shelter 245 

Influence of exercise 247 

Influence of habit 249 

Influence of selection 250 

Atavism, Law of — Chapter V.. 49-60 

Defined 49 

Illustrations of 50 

Forms of atavic transmission 50 

Not well understood 51 

Two classes of 52 

Influences that tend to pro- 
duce 53 

Alternations in atavic trans- 
mission 55 

Reversion surrounded by dif- 
ficulties 55 

Reversion not spontaneous 

variation 56 

Theorizing on variation 57 

Dominant and latent charac- 
ters 58 

An assemblage of characters 

not inherited 69 

Not necessarily antagonistic 

to improvement 59 

Barren, freemartin usually 151 

Breed formation, time required 

for 340 

Breed , prepotency in 99 

Breeding : 
Breeding capacity, indica- 
tions of 289 

Close breeding, terms that 

indicate 112 

Cross breeding 312 

Fundamental laws of 24 

Not unvarying in iheir 

action 24 

High, defined 126 

In-and-in 112 

Line breeding 124 

Powers of, when most active. 145 
Selection covers the whole art 

of 303 

Sudden changes unfavorable 

to 380 

Transmission in mixed breed- 
ing 31 

Breeding Live Stock— Chapter I 1-13 

Definition of breeding 1 

A science and an art 2 



400 



INDEX. 



PAGE. 

Breeding Live Stock— Continued 
Source of rules which govern. 2 

Comprehensive 5 

A problem advanced and dif- 
ficult 7 

Fundamental principles 8 

Obscure features of 9 

The chief aim in 10 

Breeds, Forming New — Chap- 
ter XXVII 338-349 

Considering the necessity for. 339 

Few men competent to 339 

Time required for breed 

formation 340 

Through the influence of nat- 
ural conditions 340 

Through crossing followed by 

selection 341 

Through selection and in- 
and-in breeding 342 

To render permanent some 

feature of variation 343 

Through males from another 

breed 344 

Leading principles in 345 

Selecting foundation animals 345 
Artificial characters and selec- 
tion in 346 

In-and-in breeding when 346 

Artificial variations may be- 
come latent 347 

Breed forming and out-cross- 
ing 348 

Breeds, in-and-in breeding a 

necessity in forming — .... 115 
Breeds, nutrition and the im- 
provement of 213 

Castration and Spaying — Chap- 
ter XXIX 363-374 

Castration 363-371 

Defined £63 

Principal benefit from 364 

And absolute development. . 364 
And arrested development. . 365 
And useful development — 366 
And cheapness of produc- 
tion 367 

And taint 367 

And viciousness 368 

And ease in management.. 369 

Benefits of early 370 

And advanced age 371 

Spaying 371-374 

Defined 371 

More difficult than castra- 
tion 372 

Less necessary than castra- 
tion 373 

Animals with imperfect pro- 
creative organs 373 

Climate, influence of 350 

Climate, influence of, on consti- 
tution 351 

Climate, influence of, on coat.. 353 
Climate, influence of, on utility 354 
Climatic conditions, accom- 
modating breeds to 352 



PAGE. 

Close breeding, terms that indi- 
cate 112 

Close breeding defined 125 

Coat and Influences that Affect 

— Chapter XIX 228-239 

Defined 228 

Two classes of influences — 229 

Interna] influences 229 

External influences 230 

Influence of heredity on 230 

Influence of digestion and 

food assimilation on 231 

Influence of sex on 232 

Influence of cold on 233 

Influence of heat on 234 

Influence of sunshine on 234 

Influence of moisture on 235 

Influence of protection on 235 

Influence of food on 236 

How influences may act 238 

The best coat 238 

Coat, influence of climate on.. 353 
Coat of animals and nutri- 
tion 213 

Confinement, influence of on 

fecundity.... 138 

Constitution and early matu- 
rity 263 

Constitution, indications of lack 

of ...293 

Constitutional vigor and animal 

form 290 

Correlation, The Law of — Chap- 
ter VIII 87-97 

Defined 87 

The anatomist and correlated 

structure 89 

With reference to structure. . 89 
With reference to function ... 91 

Influences that affect 92 

Value of knowledge of corre- 
lated structure 94 

And highest development of 

individual qualities 95 

Equilibrium in organization 

and 97 

Cost of development, laws gov- 
erning 257 

Cross Breeding — Chapter XXV. 

312-324 

Defined 312 

And early improvement 313 

Methods of 314 

And improvements 315 

Illustrating greater potencv 

of sire, Fig.ll 316 

And undesirable variations .. 317 
Crossing a new upon an older 

breed 318 

Crossing for increased size 319 

Crossing' females to be sent to 

the block 320 

On the ordinary form 321 

And breed intensity 321 

And uncertainty of results 322 

And type 323 

And financial results 324 



INDEX. 



401 



rAGE. 

Definition of 

Animal breeding 1 

Artificial conditions 240 

Atavism 49 

Castration 363 

Close breeding 125 

Coat : 228 

Correlation 87 

Cross breeding 312 

Early maturity 253 

Environment 350 

Fecundity 135 

Grade 325 

Handling qualities 218 

Heredity 61 

Heredity of disease 74 

Higb breeding 126 

High grade 326 

In-and-in breeding 113 

Intra-uterine influences 175 

Like produces like 25 

Line breeding 124 

Nutrition 200 

Out-cross 132 

Pedigree 268 

Prepotency 98 

Previous impregnation, influ- 
ence of 164 

Relative influence of parents 

in breeding 152 

Sex, determination of 187 

Spaying 371 

Spontaneous variation 40 

Standard of excellence 14 

Variation, law or principle of. 36 
Violent crossing or mating.. 381 
Derangement of function, 

heredity of 67 

Derangement not always fol- 
lowed by structural 

changes 69 

Development, highest, variation 

consonant with 46 

Digestion and food assimila- 
tion, influence of on coat.. 231 
Disease; see Heredity of — 

Chapter VII 74 

Abundant nutrition wards off. 206 
Predisposition to, through 

faulty conformation 85 

Inherited predisposition to, 

from one or both parents.. 82 
May be transmitted poten- 
tially 84 

Suspension in transmission of 83 

That is hereditary 77 

Disposition, quiet, indications 

of 297 

Domestic animals, period of 

gestation in 386 

Domestic animals, variation 

more readily produced in.. 44 
Dominant and latent Charac- 
ters JCQ 

Early Maturity —Chapter XXL 

253-267 
Illustration of. Fig. 7 252 



TAGE. 

Early Maturity — Continued 

Defined 253 

In dairy stock 254 

Influences which produce 255 

Advance in 256 

Laws governing the cost of 

development 257 

Meat may be marketed too 

young 259 

Most profitable age for 

marketing meat 260 

Affected by various condi- 
tions 262 

Advance in, and food supplies. 263 

And the constitution 263 

And size 264 

And longevity 264 

Hindrances to 265 

Economic value of 266 

Embryo and nutrition 210 

Environment, The Influence of 

— Chapter XXVIII 350-362 

Defined 350 

Influence of climate on 350 

Influence of climate on con- 
stitution 351 

Accommodating breeds to 

climatic conditions 352 

Influence of climate on coat.. 353 
Influence of c 1 i m a t e on 

utility 354 

Influence of pastures 354 

Influence of pastures on size . . 354 
Pastures and special develop- 
ment 356 

Influence of pastures on flesh 

and fleece 357 

Pastures and health of ani- 
mals 358 

Influence of food supplies in 

winter 359 

Influence of shelter in winter 360 
Influence of shelter in summer 361 

Adaptation to 362 

Excellence, A Standard of — 

Chapter II 14-23 

Defined 14 

For pure breds 15 

For grades 17 

Makers of 18 

Scale of points 19 

Advanced registration 20 

Points in standards 20 

Fancy points 21 

Advantages of 22 

Standards may change 22 

Receiving benefits from 23 

Exercise, influence of 247 

Fancy points 21 

Fecundity — Chapter XII.. ..135-151 

Defined 135 

Illustrated, Fig. 6 136 

Influences that affect repro- 
duction 137 

Influences that affect adverse- 
ly 138 

Influence of confinement on. . 138 



402 



INDEX. 



PAGE. I 

Fecundity — Continued 
Influence of food supplies on. 139 j 

Influence of nutrition on 140 

Influence of quali t y of food on 143 
A plethoric condition dimin- 
ishes 144 

When breeding powers are 

most active 145 

Sterility in fat animals 145 

Relation between milk pro- 
duction and reproduction.. 146 
The influence of over-breeding 

and of heredity on 148 

Relation between size in ani- 
mals and 150 

Freemartins usually barren . . 151 

Fecundity and nutrition .*. . 208 

Flock book 277 

Food : 
Assimilation and digestion, 

influence of, on coat 231 

Influence of 243 

Influence of, on coat 236 

Influence of quality of, on 

fecundity 143 

Supplies, influence of, on fe- 
cundity 139 

Supplies, influence of, in win- 
ter 359 

Forming new breeds 338 

Full blood 271 

Function with reference to cor- 
relation 91 

Gestation, period of, in domes- 
tic animals 386 

Grade 271 

Grades, standard of excellence 

for 17 

Grading, Improvement Through 

— Chapter XXVI 325 337 

Defined 325 

High grade defined 326 

Objects in breeding grades. .. 327 
Benefits from up-grading — 327 
Plan to follow in up-grading.. 328 j 
High grade sires not suitable.. 329 \ 
Zigzag grading to be shunned 330 j 
Up-grading and mingled blood 

elements in female 331 

Up-grading and a lessened 

ratio of improvement 332 ! 

Up-grading and retrogression. 334 j 
When retrogression may fol- 
low 335 I 

Up-grading and sustenance.. 335 
Excluding grades from regis- 
try 336 | 

Habit, influence of 249 j 

Handling qualities defined — 218 
Heat, females irregularly in — 379 
Heat, females too frequently 

in '.379 

Heat, influence on coat ^234 

Herd books 277 

Herd records, designation of.. 277 
Heredity and over-breeding, in- 
fluence of, on fecun. ity 148 



PAGE. 

Heredity, influence of on coat. . 230 
Heredity of Disease — Chapter 

VII 74-86 

Defined 74 

Structural and functional 75 

Congenital or of latent trans- 
mission 76 

Diseases that are hereditary. . 77 
Tuberculous diseases frequent 
among domestic animals.. 78 

Variations in 78 

Cause of tuberculosis 83 

Predisposing cause of tuber- 
culosis 80 

Animal predisposed to tuber- 
culosis, Fig. 4 81 

Inherited predisposition to, 

from one or both parents.. 82 
Suspension in transmission 

of disease 83 

Disease may be transmitted 

potentially 84 

Predisposition to disease 
through faulty conforma- 
tion 85 

Heredity of Normal, Abnormal, 
and Acquired Characters — 

Chapter VI 61-73 

Heredity defined 61 

Heredity that is normal 62 

Heredity that is normal, illus- 
trations of 63 

Heredity of individual pecul- 
iarities 64 

Heredity that is abnormal 66 

Heredity of malformations in 

structure 66 

Heredity of derangement of 

function 67 

Abnormal characters not uni- 
formly inherited 68 

Abnormal transmission not 

always apparent 69 

Functional derangement not 
always followed by struc- 
tural changes 69 

Heredity of acquired charac- 
ters 70 

Heredity of acquired charac- 
ters illustrated 70 

Acquired characters and 
original traits conflicting 

elements 71 

High breeding defined 126 

Illustrations of 
Abnormal transmission, Fig. 3. 65 
Animal predisposed to tuber- 
culosis, Fig. 4 81 

Atavic transmission 50 

Constitutional vigor, Fig. 9.. 291 

Early maturity, Fig. 7 252 

General variation 37 

Greater potency of sire, Fig. 

11 316 

Heredity of acquired charac- 
ters... 70 

Intra-uterine influences 176 



INDEX. 



403 



PAGE. 

Illustrations of —C<»iti ' 
Like producing like ii nan 

family 27 

Line breeding, excessive 128 

Normal heredity 63 

Prepotency, Fig. 5 100 

Previous impregnation, in- 
fluence of 1G5 

Quietness of disposition, Fig 

10 296 

Spontaneous variation 41 

Spontaneous variation. Fig. 2. 42 

Typical beef form, Fig. 8 2*5 

Impregnation, previous, influ- 
ence of , 164 

Improvement of breeds and 

nutrition 213 

Improvement, atavism not 

necessarily antagonistic to. 59 
Improvement* concentra t i o n 

in the search for 10 

Improvement of live stock 

neglected 3 

Improvement through grading 325 
In-and-in breeding, pedigree 

illustrating 396 

In-and-in Breeding — Chap- 
ter X >. 112-123 

Terms that indicate close 

breeding 112 

Denned 113 

Practiced purposely -aim inad- 
vertently 114 

Objects of 114 

A necessity in forming breeds 115 
Practiced • in forming new 

breeds 116 

More practiced to produce 

sires 117 

Evils resulting from lis 

Loss of size from lis 

Greater delicacy from 119 

Loss of reproducing power 

from 119 

General deterioration from.. 120 
Cannot be carried on indefi- 
nitely 121 

Conducted understandingly.. 123 
Individual peculiarities, hered- 
ity of 64 

Individual prepotency, causes 

that produce 103 

Intra-U ferine Influences— Chap- 
ter XV 175 86 

Defined 175 

Illustration of 176 

Two theories regarding 178 

Reasonssustaininghrst theory 179 
Reasons opposed to first theory 180 
Reasons sustaining second 

theory -. 182 

Resemblance in foetal develop- 
ment in its earl \ stipes 184 

Immediate causeoi malforma- 
tions .... 184 

Obscurity that yet veils the 
subject 185 



page. 
Latentand dominant characters 58 
Like produces like, frontispiece. 
Like Produces Like, The Law of 

-Chapter III 24 35 

Fundamental laws 24 

Not unvarying in their action 24 

Defined 25 

Early recognized 26 

Illustrations in the human 

family 27 

Uniformity in results 28 

Benefits arising from this law 29 
. Benefits from want of unifor- 
mity in 30 

Transmission in mixed breed- 
ing 31 

Influences that affect the ac- 
tion of 31 

Features of resemblance in 

spaying 33 

Transmission seldom equal in 

parents 35 

Lineage, pedigree of 271 

Line Breeding — Chapter XI. 124-134 

Defined 124 

Starting point in 125 

Close breeding defined 125 

High breeding defined 126 

Objects of 126 

The evils from excessive 127 

Illustrations of excessive 128 

Cannot be carried on indefi- 
nitely 131 

An out-cross defined 132 

Benefits from introducing an 

out-cross 133 

Animals longline bred produce 
few specimens of highest de- 
velopment 133 

Out-cross should be made cau- 
tiously 134 

Live stock, machines for manu- 
facturing food 5 

Longevity and early maturity. . . 264 
Malformations in structure, 

heredity of 66 

Malformations, immediate cause 

of 1x4 

Malformations and nutrition . . 210 
Mating Animals — Ch a p t e r 

XXX 375^85 

One chief object in 375 

Defects that belong to both 

parents intensified 376 

How to correct characteristic 

defects 376 

Mating and compactness in 

the sires 377 

Mating females unreliable as 

breeders 378 

Restoring power to beget in 

males 378 

Females irregularly in heat.. 379 
Females too frequently in 

heat * 37» 

Sudden changes of condition 
unfavorable to breeding 380 



404 



INDEX. 



PAGE. 

Mating Animals — Continued 
Violent crossing and mating 

defined 381 

Mating different species 381 

Mating dissimilar types 382 

Mating animals differing 

much in size and shape.. 382 
Service soon after parturition. 383 
Overtaxing prior to mating. . 385 

Maturity, early 253 

Meat production, indications of. 286 
Milk production, indications of. 287 
Milk production and reproduc- 
tion, relation between 146 

Moisture, influence of, on coat.. 235 

Native, defined 271 

Nervous force, indications of.. 297 
Nutrition-- Chapter XVII. . .200-214 

Defined 200 

Conditions upon which it de- 
pends 201 

- When a defective nutrition is 

most harmful 202 

Insufficient, attended with loss 204 
Relative importance of a free 205 
Abundant nutrition wards off 

disease 206 

And fecundity 208 

And embryo 210 

And malformations 210 

And sex 211 

And inherited qualities 211 

And profits 212 

And improvement of breeds.. 213 

And coat of animals 213 

Nutrition, active, indications of 293 
Nutrition, influence of, on 

fecundity 140 

Out-cross defined 132 

Out-cross, benefits from intro- 
ducing 133 

Out-cross should be made cau- 
tiously 134 

Parents, Relative Influence of 

— Chapter XIII 152-163 

Defined 152 

Sex alone does not affect 

transmissive power 153 

Why the male parent exerts 
the greater power, in trans- 
mission , — 151 

The offspring resemble most 

the parent most highly bred 154 
Unexpected variations in 

transmission 155 

Influence of age on transmis- 
sion 156 

Transmission when prepo- 
tency is not marked 157 

Transmission of peculiarities 

through the opposite sex 158 

Theories regarding transmis- 
sion by parents as male and 

female 159 

Objections to theories ad- 
vanced 161 

Practical deductions 162 



PAGE. 

Parents, inherited predisposi- 
tion to disease from one or 

both 82 

Parents, transmission seldom 

equal in 35 

Parentage, terms relating to.. 281 
Parturition, service soon after. 383 

Pastures, influence of 354 

Pastures and health of animals. 358 
Pedigree — Chapter XXIII. . .268-282 

Defined 268 

Objects sought in keeping 269 

Terms used to denote lineage. 270 
Term thoroughbred defined.. 270 

Pure-bred, defined 270 

Cross-bred, defined 270 

Full blood, defined 270 

Orade, defined 271 

Scrub, defined 271 

Native, defined 271 

And purity of blood 271 

Of lineage 271 

Of performance 272 

Not a history of the ancestry., 272 

Measure of value in 273 

Authenticity in 273 

Genuineness in 274 

Excellence in the ancestry — 275 
Leading methods of writing. . 276 
Designation of herd records . . 277 
Stud book, herd book, flock 

book 277 

Objects in keeping public rec- 
ords 277 

Modes of recording pedigrees 

not uniform 279 

Distinguishing marks in rec- 
ords 280 

Terms referring to parentage.. 281 
Choosing names for animals . . 281 

Pedigree, selection in 305 

Pedigree, writing and reading. . 389 

By first system 389 

By second system 393 

Ciose in-and-in breeding 396 

Performance, pedigree of 272 

Period of gestation in domestic 

animals 386 

Plethoric condition diminishes 

fecundity 114 

Points in standards 20 

Points, fancy 21 

Points, scale of 19 

Potential transmission of dis- 
ease 84 

Predisposition to disease in- 
herited from one or both 

parents 82 

Predisposition to disease 

throughfaultyconformation 85 
Prepotency — Chapter IX . . . .98-111 

Defined 98 

Of breed 99 

Individual 99 

Illustrating, Fig. 5 100 

Influences that produce pre- 
potency of type 102 



INDEX. 



405 



PAGE. 

Prepotency — Continued 
Influences that produce pre- 
potency in individual 103 

Minor influences that affect. . 105 
Animals similarly bred may 

differ much in 10G 

Rules governing not easily 

framed 107 

In animals inferior individu- 
ally 108 

Marked prepotency not of 

great frequency 109 

Specially important in males.. 109 

Not assured till pro ven 110 

Prepotency, transmission when 

not marked 157 

Prepotency not a factor in de- 
termining sex 197 

Previous Impregnation, Influ- 
ence of — Chapter XIV. . .164-174 

Defined 1G4 

Illustrations of 165 

May extend to successive 

births 166 

A first, second, and third ex- 
planation of 167 

The intensity of male element 
in fertilization differs widely 171 
. Fecundation sometimes af- 
fects whole system 172 

Influence greater from a first 172 
Practical bearing on stock 

breeding 173 

Profits and nutrition 212 

Protection, influence on coat.. 235 

Pure-bred, defined 270 

Pure-bred, standard of excel- 
lence for 15 

Quality in Live Stock, — Chap- 
ter XVIII 215-227 

The term frequently used 215 

And ripeness in animals 216 

And present thrift of animals 217 

And well doing 217 

Handling qualities defined 218 

In widest sense 220 

Different in different species 221 

In beef cattle 221 

In dairy cattle 222 

In sheep 223 

In swine 224 

Indications of. not clearly ap- 
parent at birth 224 

More frequent in well bred 

animals 225 

And quantity 226 

Recognizing" quality in ani- 
mals 226 

Animal form an index of 283 

Records, herd ; designations of.. 277 
Records, public, objects of keep- 
ing 277 

Registration advanced 20 

Reproduction and milk produc- 
tion, relation between 116 

Reproduction, influences that 
affect 137 



PAGE. 

Reproducing power, loss of, 

from in-and-in breeding... 119 
Reversion not spontaneous vari- 
ation 56 

Reversion surrounded by diffi- 
culties 55 

Ripeness and quality in animals 216 

Scale of points 19 

Scrub defined 271 

Selection — Chapter XXIV... 30 1-311 

What is meant by 301 

Necessity for 302 

Covers the whole art of breed- 
ing 302 

And standards 305 

In pedigree 305 

And individual merit 306 

And the sire 307 

And undesirable transmis- 
sion 308 

And unsparing limitation 309 

And judicious mating 311 

Selection, influence of 250 

Service soon after parturition. . 383 
Sex, Determination of — Chap- 
ter XVI 187-199 

First theory 1«8 

Second theory 189 

Third theory 191 

Fourth theory 192 

Fifth theorv 192 

Sixth theory 192 

Seventh theory 195 

Prepotency not a factor in 

producing 197 

Uniformity in the proportion 

of the sexes 197 

Summary of what is known 

regarding it 198 

Sex and nutrition 211 

Sex and influence on coat 232 

Shelter, influence of 245 

Shelter, influence of, in winter. 360 
Shelter, influence of, in summer 361 

Size and early maturity 264 

Size and fecundity, relation be- 
tween 150 

Size and influence of pastures 

on 354 

Size, increased crossing for ... 319 

Spaying 371 

Spontaneous variation defined.. 40 

Standards, points in 20 

Standards and selection 305 

Sterility in fat animals 145 

Structure with relation to 

correlation 89 

Stud book 277 

Sunshine, influence of, on coat. 234 

Thoroughbred 270 

Transmission : 
Abnormal, illustrated, Fig. 3.. 65 
Abnormal, not always appar- 
ent 69 

Atavic, illustration of 50 

Atavic, influences that tend to 
produce 53 



406 



INDEX. 



PAGE. 

Transmission— Continued 
Atavic, surrounded by diffi- 
culties 55 

Atavic, not well understood . . 51 

Atavic, two classes of 52 

By parents as male and female. 159 

Forms of atavic 50 

Influences of age on 156 

In mixed breeding 31 

Of disease potentially 84 

Of peculiarities through op- 
posite sex 158 

Power of, in some families 47 

Seldom equal in parents 35 

Suspension in transmission of 

disease 83 

Unexpected results in 155 

Undesirable, and selection.... 308 
When prepotency is not 

marked 157 

Why male parent exerts 

greater power in 154 

Transmissive powers, sex does 

not affect 153 

Tuberculous disease frequent 

among domestic animals 78 

Cause of 80 

Predisposing cause of . 80 

Animal predisposed to, Fig. 4 81 
Type, prepotency of, influences 

that produce 102 

Up-grading, benefits from 327 

Up-grading, plan to follow 328 



PAGE. . 

Variation, Law or Principle of 

— Chapter IV 30 48 

Defined 36 

General variation defined 37 

General variation illustrated 37 
Causes of general variation . . 38 
Food a powerful factor in . . . 39 
Spontaneous variation defined 40 
Spontaneous variation not well 

understood 41 

Illustrations of spontaneous 

variation 41 

Illustrations of spontaneous 

variation, Fig. 2 42 

Spontaneous variations can- 
not perpetuate themselves . . 43 
More readily produced in do- 
mestic animals 44 

Perpetuating variations 45 

Variation consonant with 

highest development 46 

Power of transmission in some 

families 47 

Variations, in the inheritance 

of disease 79 

Variations, theorizing on 57 

Variations, undesirable, and 

cross breeding 317 

Variations, unexpected results 

in 155 

Wool production, indications 

of 288 

Zigzag breeding to be shunned 33C 



•TA.VO-S 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



002 827 398 8 








ii§ 



: 



